Titans: Rise of Talon

Rough Morning

07:13 PDT
November 28th
Titans Tower, California
....

Dick groaned and shifted in his bed as he slowly began to wake up, his head pounding in a sharply increasing migraine. Memories from the night before swirled in and out of focus, feeling more like a bad dream than anything else. He was ready to dismiss it as such until his stormy blue eyes landed on the single white feather he had left on his nightstand. Everything crashed in his mind with sudden, piercing clarity.

He had only a few days before he would leave his young team for an unknown length of time. They had only gotten back from Paris a month or so ago and were still trying to get back in the swing of things. And here he was about to abandon them. His eyes roamed over to the plain black and white mask that had hidden his identity from the world...from them.

Once this situation blows over, I'll ask Bruce if it's time, he resolved.

The fifteen year old hero motioned to stand before his legs buckled unsteadily. The room was a tornado of shapes and colors before his vision, causing him to sit back down on the bed. Everything felt wrong. Dick rubbed a hand over his face and through his messy ebony locks out of nervous habit. He felt sick, and it couldn't have been a coincidence since last night's bizarre happenings. The timing was too perfect for it to be anything else.

I wasn't gassed, he thought, And I wasn't injected with anything. So what's going on?

Whatever had caused this sudden bout of sickness, the boy wonder was determined not to let any sign of weakness show. He was team leader; he had to make sure everything and everyone was good before he could think to worry for himself.

With that thought set firmly in his mind, he pushed himself back up and staggered into his personal bathroom. He gripped the sides of sink in an effort to steady himself and catch his breath, willing the round of dizziness to pass. One glance in the mirror told him that his skin was paler, but he hoped his natural Romanian tan would disguise that fact. His normally vibrant blue eyes were cloudy and out of focus, but that could be easily hidden with his signature mask. It was sad how quickly his mind came up with ways to hide his pain rather than deal with it.

    Dick mechanically gelled his hair up and changed into his costume, becoming the stoic leader of the Teen Titans once again. Robin could handle a little cold. He could handle anything thrown at him.

But a nagging little voice in the back of his mind reminded him that the Owl on the roof hadn't challenged the legendary Teen Wonder. He had issued a threat to the boy hidden inside the costume, the little circus kid named Dick Grayson. Never once had the man, if he was even human, called him by his hero alias, and that was something that unnerved him to no end. Who else knew? What were their plans? How long did they have before everyone's secrets began to unravel? Were Bruce and Alfred safe?

   That last thought made him snort, Of course they're safe. Bruce is THE Batman, and Alfred can handle himself against anybody. They're fine.

     Checking himself one more time to ensure he looked presentable, Robin left his dorm and made his way towards the main room. The normal clamor of Meat vs. Tofu grated harshly in his ears, the noise a lot stronger than usual.

Cy and BB must really be going at it, he thought with a slight grimace, Wish they could turn it down though.

   Robin winced as the door leading to the kitchen automatically slid open, and the volume of the two teens reached full volume. But it was the cacophony of other sounds that disoriented the boy wonder. Starfire's normally gentle humming buzzed in his ears, and the beeping of Raven's tea warmer pierced his senses. But the worst of all was definitely Cyborg and Beast Boy's debate over breakfast. It was safe to say that the headache forming behind of his eyes was the least of his concerns.