Thirteen

Chapter Two - Unknown

Chapter 2

October 17, 2012

{04:39 PST}

The Bioship finally reached the mountain range after a long and grueling flight in near complete silence. After receiving the coordinates, Miss Martian, Superboy, and Aqualad had dispatched to their designated spots, leaving Robin to fly the ship with Kid Flash and Artemis.

"We'll be there in two minutes." Robin said suddenly, breaking the hard silence. The two others aboard the ship nodded slightly, gazes fixed out the front window. Nightfall had cast itself over the snowy slopes as snow began to cascade down the peaks themselves. Robin sunk back into the control seat irritably, dreading sitting in the snow for a busted mission.

Not much longer, Robin had dropped off Kid Flash and Artemis at their locations deep within the valleys. The trade was to take place a distance away. Robin then flew to his given coordinates and hopped out of the Bioship. The ship then flew by itself back towards Miss Martian's location.

He tugged his cape over his shoulders and trudged through the thick snow. When he reached a large enough rock, Robin brushed the snow off of it and sat on top of it, taking out is binoculars in the process. He watched as his breath would wisp past him, getting carried away by the frosty wind for miles on end.

The same wind threatened to blow his cape back, but Robin held it tightly around his chest. He perched himself as comfortably as he could by ignoring the bitter cold and his chapped lips. The snow began to fall harder, making the mountain range near impossible to see through. Hissing something a foreign language under his breath, Robin grabbed his binoculars roughly and held them to his eyes.

Minutes ticked by at a bitter pace eventually molding into an hour. Robin rolled his eyes and threw his binoculars in the snow in frustration. "I told you there wasn't going to be a shipment, Batman!" The ebony shouted over the mountain peak just to have it be echoed back at him.

Robin groaned and jumped off his rock to pick up his fallen equipment. When he straightened out, he noticed a dark figure standing a few feet away. Cautiously, Robin set his binoculars down and turned to face the hooded figure in the distance. The snow falling hit the man's cloak, speckling it with white dots.

"This is a closed mission." Robin said authoritatively, a bit uneasy with this stranger being so far from civilization at this hour, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, sir."

"I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm just here to see my shipment go through."

Robin almost nodded, ready to turn back and take up his position again when the words finally sunk in. His head snapped towards the mysterious man with narrowed eyes. "This is your shipment?"

The man nodded, "Indeed it is," he said, nonchalantly looking at the sky over the boy's shoulder. Robin scowled and pulled out his Escrima Sticks, crouching a bit into a defensive position. A few feet before him, the hooded figure smirked and reached into his cloak and pulled out a bo-staff. Robin swallowed, shortly debating if he should switch to a bo-staff or not.

"Who are you?" Robin finally asked, ignoring the small dispute locked in his head. Unbeknown to the Boy Wonder, silent lightning struck behind him, lighting up the sky for three seconds.

The cloaked man smiled although the young hero could not see it, "My name is none of your concern, but you will come to know it in due time."

Robin's glare intensified as he gripped his sticks tighter in his fists. Suddenly, he took off towards the man, striking with his Escrima Sticks. The man seemingly effortlessly blocked Robin's attacks. He then retaliated the younger's attack by swinging his staff and bringing it down on his white-colored glove, sending his stick flying.