The Sixth Titan | Teen Titans

Chapter Fifty-Six - Trust

    "Yes. We are here," Starfire says, just as I reach the bottom of the stairs.

    "Okay," I sigh, walking over to the kitchen bench. The others move to congregate around me as I speak. "Robin's helping Hot Spot out—he got attacked by Madame Rouge: the shapeshifter. We couldn't find Wildebeest, but we found his communicator, so we have to extend the search. 

    "Cyborg, I need you to look up Wildebeest's communicator history. I have the barcode for you." I fish the device out from next to my own communicator and place it on the table; the robotic teen takes it quickly. "Beast Boy and Starfire, I've sent you the coordinates and you can access them anyway. It's where Wildebeest last was." Both Titans nod, and I turn to the cloaked girl beside me.

    "Raven, I need to talk to you about something else."

    Raven frowns, but nods. Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy disperse, and I can feel her eyes on me expectantly. Slowly, as if moving too fast will set her off, I turn to the half-demon and grab her by the shoulders softly.

    "What did you want to tell me?"

    "Uh, I don't know how to say this," I begin, and it's true. Ever since I last talked to Raven alone like this, I'd been thinking about how I could find my father, and I'd thought of the perfect idea. "I need to set something up, let's say, and I can't do it on my own 'cause I might get ambushed."

    Raven tilts her head back and arches an eyebrow, arms crossed. I resist the urge to shrink in my spot in embarrassment. "I'm gonna need more than that if you want me to help you."

    "My father and his people..." I cast my mind back to when I was younger, to the pillar of blue and red. With that in mind, I continue, "whenever they wanted to contact someone else, they set up, this—this beacon. I want to do that. But my father—he'll know it's me, and he'll come in numbers. That's why I need you."

    "For backup?"

    At the girl's questioning tone, I shake my head and sigh. "I know, I know. It's a bad idea. I should never have brought it up. I'm sorry."

    "You're sorry?" Raven asks. She scrutinises me before shaking her head. "No, you're not. I'll help you, okay? Always."

    I smile at Raven and her selflessness, her willingness to help out. "Thank you," I say, holding her hands in mine. I half expect the cloaked girl to pull them away, as she's not a big fan of physical acts like this, but she surprises me by squeezing them tighter.

    "Any time. That's what I'm here for. Family first."

    I smile and open my mouth to reply but my own communicator beats me to it. "Robin here."

    I glance at Raven, looking into her eyes. She smiles at me and nods, and I look down at the device in my left hand. "Everything okay?"

    "Yeah. Hot Spot and I are both fine."

    "That's good to hear. Can't say the same over here."

    "Have you found Wildebeest?"

    "I wish. The others are looking right now, but I've not heard back."

    There's the obligatory pause as Robin takes in this new information and thinks of what to say next, and then I hear his voice. "What are you doing instead?"

    "Uh..." I glance at Raven, who looks as lost as I do, "taking a trip down memory lane."

    "... I'm gonna pretend I know what that means. Good luck. Starfire? Cyborg? Beast Boy? Anything?"