Cardinal

I woke up, sweating and panting from the nightmare I had. I looked over to my clock. It said 5:20 AM. I groaned, leaning my head against the pillow. I had slept for a while. The last thing I remember was Robin yelling at me, and then I just fell asleep. I felt bad for not going to the 'Mall of Shopping' with Starfire, but Robin had most likely explained to her that I just needed time.

After what seemed like forever, I finally got up, realizing I couldn't sleep anymore. I grabbed a normal pair of sweats, along with a tank top that went half way down my stomach. I took one of Robin's old sweatshirts that he left at the Wayne Mansion. The back had originally said Grayson, but the son had faded away leaving only Gray. I walked into the bathroom, hoping that they would have a spare towel I could use. Thankfully, they did.

I quickly stripped out of my uniform, before stepping into the wide bathtub. It wasn't as big as the one at the mansion, but it was still fairly big. I washed my hair, using my apple scented shampoo. I got out, drying myself quickly with the towel, before dressing.

I sighed walking out of the bathroom and down the hall to my room. I grabbed my favorite book, Withering Heights, by Emily Bronte. It had the oh-so charming Heathcliff in it.

I sat on the Titan's circular couch, pulling my legs beneath me, and putting the sleeves of the sweatshirt over my hands. It was really big on me, but it was comfortable. Plus, it still had a small scent of Robin on it.

Hands went over my eyes quickly. I squealed. "Guess." they said, the voice sounding awfully familiar. I thought for a second before answering, "I bet it's that super hot, arrow guy, isn't it? Speedy, am I right?" I grinned, knowing it was Kid Flash.

I felt the hands stiffen, "Hell no, I'm not arrow boy." he said, taking his hands away from my eyes. He jumped over the side of the couch, "Whatcha reading?" he asked, leaning over to see the book. I closed the book, putting it under my leg.

"Oh, it's too inappropriate for your eyes." I smiled. He looked at me in surprise, "R-really?" he asked.

"Guess you'll never know." I smirked. He looked at me, and before I knew it, he wasn't there. I felt my leg being lifted quickly, and then dropped back down, the book gone from beneath it. Damn. I thought. Forgot he was fast.

He looked at the book, before throwing it on the table in front of us. He turned toward me, "Lies, that's just some stupid classic."

"It's not stupid, it's very good, thank you very much." I said, glaring playfully. I touched my face, making sure I had put my mask on this morning. Thank go I had. Robin would of just yelled even more if I hasn't. I sighed as I remembered our fight. Kid Flash looked at me questionably.

"You okay?" he asked before poking my arm. I looked at where he'd poked me, nodding in the process. I looked at my watch. 7:00. Already. Robin would be up soon.

"So, uh, I like your sweatshirt." Kid Flash said. I grinned, remembering it only said Gray.

"Really?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. It was special to me, but not exactly attractive.

"Yeah, but I have a question about it," he started. I nodded for him to go on. "Uh, why does it say Gray on the back?" he asked, glancing at the back. I chuckled a bit.

"It used to be Robin's, and well, I guess he just liked Gray." I lied. He nodded, acting as though he understood, but I could tell from his face that he didn't.

Robin walked in, without me knowing. I heard the refrigerator close, and I turned. I could tell that he was staring at the sweatshirt. Maybe it brought back memories, I didn't know. Maybe he was just pissed that I was wearing it?

"You really shouldn't be wearing that. It's mine." he complained, taking his eggs to the counter.

I shook my head, "Shouldn't have left it at the batcave," I began, rolling my eyes in the process, "It's been mine for a couple years now. Batman said I could have it." I finished.

He slammed the eggs on the counter, trying to be gentle, but failing completely. I was sure a couple eggs broke. I flinched, not expecting it.

"I don't give a damn what Batman said. It's mine. Just because I left it, doesn't mean it's automatically yours. I left tons of things behind, but that doesn't me-" He was interrupted by me.

I glared at him, standing up, "Oh, shut the hell up Robin. You have NO clue how I felt after you left. Why did you leave Robin? Huh? Because of an argument between you and Bru-Batman. Put your big boy pants on and stop being an ass about everything, Dick." I yelled, standing my ground. He stared at me in shock. Was he not used to me using swear words, or what?

"Did you just call him a dick?" Kid Flash asked in a surprised tone. I then realized what I did. I had actually outed his name. I bit my lip.

"Uh, yeah. I, um, called him a dick." I replied, wide-eyed. I glanced over to Kid Flash, before turning my attention back to Robin. He had an "Oh shit." look on this face.

Kid Flash erupted with laughter.

I mouthed a subtle 'sorry' to Robin, before she slowly continued to make his breakfast. I won this time, and he knew it. I knew he'd probably tell me off later about the incident.

I turned back to Kid Flash, who was now getting over his laughing fit. He wiped an invisible tear, "That was great." he said. I gave him a small smile, and breathed a laugh.

---

After everyone had finally awaken, Beast Boy being the last, Robin ordered a training session for everyone. Kid Flash darted after hearing that. By darted, I mean he was there one second, then gone the next.

Knowing Robin, I automatically assumed that we would be sparring first, which we did. He allowed no weapons or powers. Only hands. Great. He paired us in groups of two since there were six of us. Starfire and Raven were together, along with Beast Boy and Cyborg. Of course he would put the two of us together. But what he didn't know was that Batman trained me even harder after he had left. He wanted to make sure I was ready for anything. Literally anything.

Star and Raven were first to battle. Star went into warrior princess mode just to prove her strength, but anytime she would touch Raven, she'd freak out and ask is she was okay. She was fine, but Star still thought she had to ask after every time. This made Raven win because Star let her guard down every time she attacked.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were next. It resulted in disqualification of Cyborg. He used his sonic cannon, resulting in Beast Boy being slightly burned. Cy got a little to frustrated.

Then, it was down to Robin and me. He stood in his fighting stance, while I tried to think of my first maneuver. He didn't give me a chance to, starting immediately. He ran towards me, using all of his speed. I quickly dipped down, sweeping his feet from beneath him. Point one for Cardinal.

Robin quickly got up, moving his fist outward for a swift punch to my cheek. I'll admit, it hurt, but I quickly retaliated by kicking him in the ribs. He doubled over, but came back up.

I knew that was one of his weaknesses. I always have. He sent a kick toward my stomach, but I slid out of the way before he reached me.

"Copying me now, are we?" I smirked, knowing by his facial expression that he was getting mad. I winked, before back hand springing, kicking him in the jaw in the process. I heard him groan, before retaliating once again.

He threw another punch, but I moved to where it only grazed me. I tried to focus, but he swept his foot, which instantly knocked me to the ground. He put his legs on both sides of me, punching my face multiple times.

I tasted blood in my mouth. It tasted horrible. I could feel parts of my face start to bruise. Once he saw the blood he instantly stopped. I could tell by the look on his face that he felt sorry. He cringed as he looked at my face. Was it really that bad? I mean, it couldn't have been. We had fought like this before back at the batcave, but I guess this was worse somehow.

I felt five pairs of eyes on me, some looking at me in disbelief, some concerned. Robin's were both, along with many other things. He got off of me, helping me up, but I couldn't stand well. He put his arm around me, helping me to the Infirmary. I didn't need to be there though. I was perfectly fine. Or at least I thought I was.

As soon as we got to the infirmary, I was immediately checked out from my face down to my ankle. I an immense amount of pain in my ankle that I hadn't felt before. I could hear Robin's many apologies.

"I'm so sorry. I just got so carried away. I let my feelings get the best of me." he apologized, concern taking over his face. I shook my head slightly, grabbing his hand.

"That's how Bats taught us. I shouldn't have let my guard down. I failed." I said quietly. He gently wiped blood from the corner of my mouth, trying not to hear me.

"No, I shouldn't have been that hard on you. You weren't trained as much as I was." he replied. At this, I got angry.

"Dick don't even go there." I started, looking around the room to make sure no one else was there before continuing, "I trained way harder than you think after you left."

I stood up, quickly falling back into my sitting position. Yep. Just as I thought. My ankle was either fractured, or broken. I wasn't sure which one.

Robin gave me a stern look, which told me I needed to stay off my feet. I sighed, knowing he was right. He grabbed a chair that sat next to the bed, along with some medical supplies.

He sat in the chair, placing my ankle in his lap. He examined it, placing his hand on it lightly, which made me suck in a deep breath. I winced. He automatically removed his hand, giving me a silent sorry. I shrugged.

"My sweep must of fractured it." he said. I looked down at my ankle, noticing it was bruised and quite swollen.

"I've had worse happen to me." I shrugged again, giving a small smile. He nodded, agreeing. He slowly wrapped a bandage around my ankle, being careful of the swollen portion.

After he had finished wrapping, he carefully put my foot down beside the other. He grabbed for a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball. He put the alcohol on the cotton ball and wiped the cuts I had on my face. It stung, but I bared with it.

"Thanks for-" I started, but my brother stopped me.

"Don't, Ness. It was my fault. The least I could do is help." he told me, giving me one of his smiles.

"You're an idiot." I laughed, and he stopped cleaning my wounds.

"Am I?" He asked, grinning.

"Most Definitely." I replied.