Power Play (Birdflash)

Magic Act

        I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. If I opened my mouth I couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t tell him everything right then and there. I wanted to though. More then i have ever wanted anything ever. But I couldn’t lose control now. Not with so many people around. Not on a mission.

        He whispers my name but I ignore him, pretending that I couldn’t hear him over the applause. I know if I speak my voice will betray me. I thought doubting Bats was my only trigger but I can hardly stop myself from crying. I hadn’t expected to see such resentment in my best friends eyes, even less so directed at me.

        How would he react if he knew it was me sitting next to him. Listening to him vent about me? Would he resent me more if he knew I had breached his privacy? Would he hate me for knowing about yet another part of his life without ever letting him into mine?

        I can’t take the chance. I can’t tell him. Ever. I feel the uncomfortable tickle as the tears begin to silently fall over the curve of my face. I hate crying. I never cry. Not since my parents... Wally has given up on talking to me and is now watching the show intently. He doesn't see the tears. I'm both relieved and disappointed.

        I tune out the performances for the most part, focusing on calming myself. I catch the occasional word of praise and Wally’s exited banter after each one. I had managed to both stop crying and dry the tears before anyone had noticed I had been crying at all. Now I was simply clearing my mind so I wouldn’t start again.

        I hate crying. I’ve fought the urge before but i’ve never actually broken down and cried since my parents death. I try not to show any of my real emotions. My enemies will happily use them against me and i can't give them that leverage. Wally and Bats are the only ones that have ever been able to get a genuine emotional response from me and i don’t even think they realize it most of the time.

        I must have closed my eyes at some point because I had to open them again when I heard Artemis call out to the three of us. I glance over at her to see that she has her gaze glued to the center ring. She seems uneasy and her eyes are determined. I suppose its better than the contempt and disdain in them when she looks at me… i make another mental reminder to dig into her past abit.

        I follow her gaze and can’t help but smile at the silly attire of what seems to be a magician. Various colorful boxes and a random assortment of props are scattered around the ring. Typical things for a magic act but a few things are...out of place? A few weird looking contraptions are scattered around and he’s not really wearing the traditional magician's outfit.  

        He’s wearing a top hat and suit like most magicians but he has yellow dog ears propped on the rim of his hat the kind that flop over themselves, like a retriever or a lab. He also seems to have a tail of the same color. His  blond hair matches the color of the fake appendages to letter. although i’d say the main thing that caught my attention would be the goggles perched on the rim of his hat just above the dog ears.

        It seems out of place for a magician to be wearing an accessory usually associated with the sciences, but after closer inspection I realize that all of his ‘magic tricks’ are done with those quirky inventions that I get the distinct impression he created himself. He wasn’t trying to hid this fact either. It seems that his inventions were part of the act and not meant to be passed off as magic. It made for a rather unique show.

        But it wasn’t the magician himself that had caught the teams attention. It was his assistant. She was the girl we had come looking for. Sanity, if my memory serves. She was wearing similar attire as the boy but fitted for a girl, and had a pair of fox ears and a tail. Her hair had been dyed a pretty orange but I’m not sure if that was to help keep her hidden or if it was to accommodate the costume. And she had a pendent. It wasn’t like anything I had ever seen before. It shined as though it had a life of it’s own and the design of the fox loped around and hugging the girls neck was incredible detailed.

        But the most notable part was the jewel. It was red, similar to a ruby but different in every way. I can't describe it. The fox loped around the girls neck so that the jewel would be held between it’s nose and tail. It’s head was above looking down at the jem and it seemed to be holding it with the utmost care. Whoever had crafted this pendant was incredible skilled.

        I shake my head to clear my scattered thoughts. This is no time to be appraising jewelry! I return my focus to the ring focusing more on the actual act rather  than the girl we had come for, or more specifically her pendent. The act ended gaining a rawr of applause from the crowd. I watched the two performers leave the ring and sit restlessly as their things were cleared from the stage.

        Should we go to find them now? That would draw some attention to us but was it really a good idea to wait for the remaining acts to finish before confronting her? What if something happened while were just sitting here having our fill of the circus. What would Bats think if we lost her because we were watching circus acts?

        I shake my head again. This is absurd! Nothing is going to happen in the hour still left of the show. We’ll sit here until the performances are over and then we’ll go find Sanity. Theres no reason to draw attention to the poor girl when we have no reason to.

        “Hey, you ok?” I nearly jump out of my seat at the words. I glance over at Wally who responds to my obvious startle with an apologetic look. I blush and pout at the fact that I was started so easily and he blinks at me in surprise. I tilt my head to the side to signifi my own confusion at his reaction but he just seems more surprised. He shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck with an awkward smile.

        “S-sorry you just looked alot like my friend just then..” I almost choke at his response. Was I really that obvious? How could I be so careless? Breath Dick, breath. Just play it off, just play it off. I smile, successfully hiding my internal panic. I’m even able to keep my voice steady when I speak.

        “And am I not your friend?” I ask playfully hoping he focuses on the small joke instead of the fact that that is exactly what I would saw. It doesn't seem to have worked because he stumbles on his response. Wally never stumbles on his response.

        “Y-yea. I mean yes your my friend. I meant another friend when I said that. Not that that makes you any less of a friend. I just meant…” I chuckle despite the fact that my facade is cracking. I’m Robin. I can fix this. As long as I stay calm I can fix this.

        “It’s ok Wally. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.” He stutters for a response but in the end settles for a simple smile and nod. He looked back at the ring as the next act finishes setting up and starts there flashy performance. I sit quietly refusing to let myself think about Wally.

 

        We all know that didn’t last long.