What?

Chapter Six

"What do you want me to do?" I smiled. He finally decides to be at least slightly obedient. I placed my hand on his shoulder and felt him tense, scrunching up his shoulders. It was like I had stung him. I suppressed shaking my head. If it stings like bees now, it will later feel like an oil bath. I gestured to the staircase.

I could tell that his gaze shifted, "Down there if you would."

As I pushed him down the steps, he made no effort to shake me off. He seemed to act like a prisoner. The kid doesn't know what a liberation has just taken place. Once down at the lower level, I forced him into the center. Today's job: observations. Yes, it was true that I already knew a lot about Robin. If I didn't, I probably wouldn't have chosen him.

The fact remains that there's always more to learn. One thing that I still needed was statistics. I snapped for three Sladebots. They came into Robin's view and he went into a fighting stance. Almost cute. Almost.

I slightly laugh, "Oh no, Robin. No scheduled fights today. The next few days will be...observations."

He looked confused, perhaps even slightly invaded, "What do you mean by 'observations'?"

So naive. I swear, no matter where you're from one thing never changes: Teenagers are always naive. Some would say that girl, Starfire I believe, would be the naive one of the group. She is...foreign. That's all. Robin's the one confused and messed up of the Titans. I take that back, he WAS the messed up one.

He's not part of them anymore.

If an explanation is really required, "I might have plenty of knowledge about you, Robin, but there's always more to learn. Quite bluntly, I will be monitoring you, while training you at the same time. But as of now, I'm not exactly training you. More so, I'm getting information."

He seemed to calm down a bit. My apprentice was apprehensive, and would be about just about everything until he learns to trust me. That will take a while, I know. For a long time, Robin's known me as the mysterious criminal crime lord that he could never even talk to for more than a minute. I haven't forgotten. I snapped again.

The adjustment will take some time. I know that. I don't expect him to tell me that I don't ask or even ask me anything in particular. That will happen when a rock, a foundation of trust, is formed between us. I'm still edgy with him. I'll probably have to remind him of what he is risking every hour on the hour. Although, that doesn't mean that the rock won't be built.

As for him, he'll need someone...eventually. No one can bottle themselves up for too long without tearing themselves up inside. More people will give, or want to talk before risking losing their sanity. Robin won't want to lose his sanity. That's most likely already a growing fear anyway.

"How does that suit feel on you?" I asked. As he thought, so did I. The suit ultimately looked as though he could wear it for extended periods of time. In that, I mean it fit him. 'It's such a change to see him like that.' But my thoughts weren't just on that. In the back of my mind, I was thinking about what has made him... I'm not looking for his past, yet. I am looking for what is his current rock. It needs to be eroded away to a fine scattered sand dune.

His answer, "Well, it's a bit constricting in the shoulder areas and the gloves are a little tight on my fingers and wrists. The leather isn't all that comfortable on the legs, especially around the knees either. But then again, maybe it's just 'cause you had to kick me to the floor earlier and I had to feel your disgusting grip on my wrists."

'A mistake Apprentice', "How about you try that again and I won't kill those so-called friends of yours."

He seemed to recoil, "I'm not really used to it yet. It's still new, but the gloves are constricting. I think they're a little small."