Chapter Two: Indecision Can Be Lethal

Quick Sticky:

I'm sorry to say this but...this will be my only update for the weekend because I have to take the ACT on Saturday, evil tests, I have enough of them at school! So I probably won't get anything else up till Saturday night or Sunday, I just wanted to tell you guys!

I am NOT a Rae/Rob shipper! This is about them as friends not as a romantic couple! The way they interact is interesting, I'm just not gung-ho about 'shipping. The line about the robin landing on the windowsill of the hospital when Robin was born is my idea, by the way.

"Be a shame if somethin' happened to them, y'know them with them being way up there, and the ground bein' way down here." Young Dick Grayson hid in a dark area eavesdropping on a conversation between Pops Haley and Anthony 'Tony' Zucco, a Gotham Mobster.

"Is that a threat, Zucco?" Pops Haley demanded.

"Maybe, it is, Pops, maybe it is," Tony's voice was low and threatening.

"Don't you dare call me Pops, you overgrown bag of wind! I'm not gonna sit here and take your crap. If you don't get off my property Zucco, I'll call the cops on you and you're not going to do anything to the Graysons or anyone else!"

"Watch your mouth, old man!" Zucco's voice shouted back angrily.

"Get out! Get out of here!" Pop's voice rang with rage as Dick Grayson watched the scene from a hiding place within the curtains of a nearby tent. He saw Zucco come storming out, hatred etched into his features.

"You're going to pay, old man. Be a shame if somethin' happened to them, y'know them with them being way up there, and the ground bein' way down here." A hideous expression on his face, "it's a shame, really, but I warned him."

Dick Grayson was shaking with fear. What was he to do? Who could he talk to? Who would believe him? He didn't know what to do. He was too confused and afraid to make a decision. And indecision was lethal.

He was thinking, thinking about the words that haunted his darkest nightmares. He had been too slow. Too afraid to say anything; his silence had cost his parents their lives. Richard Grayson, Little Robin stared at his reflection in his bathroom mirror. He sighed. What was he to do? How could he tell them what would happen? Would they believe him? He turned to leave the room. He knew he had to do something, tell them something. Explain what was going on. But who could he talk to?

"Hey Robin, you alright?" a voice asked him. He brought his mind back to the present. It was Raven and she was looking at him. There was something he wasn't telling her. She vaguely knew it was something about his parents. She knew that they had died but that was all.

"It's hard to explain Raven," he replied.

"So start explaining Robin, why didn't you tell us about your parents?"

"It's a very painful subject for me," he replied.

"You seem very happy that they're here."

"I am. I have always wanted them to see me as I am now." Robin looked at her intently. "Can we go up on the roof? I would like to discuss this in private."

"Sure," Raven followed Robin up onto the roof and when the door was shut, Robin sighed. "Start talking Robin. I want to know about your parents. We don't know much about you as it is."

"I know, I know; and I have my own reasons for not telling any of you," Robin said. "Where should I begin?"

"Let's start with the basics. What's your real name?" Raven asked. It was a start to unravel the enigmatic puzzle that was Robin.

"My name…is Richard 'Dick' Grayson," he replied with a smile.

"So why do you call yourself Robin?"

"Today's my birthday. The first day of spring; my mother, Mary Grayson, whom you met called me Little Robin since I was five. It was a sign of her affection. She says she saw a robin land on the windowsill of the hospital room when I was born. She called me Little Robin because I reminded her of spring, and all the joy I gave her and dad.

"We were acrobats at Haley's Circus. We were doing a show in Gotham. I'm sure you've heard a lot about Gotham."

"I've hard of it," Raven said. "Very famous place, I know Bruce Wayne lives there."

"Funny you should mention Bruce Wayne." Robin smiled. "I wonder if I should bring him into this."

"Why would you do that?" Raven asked.

"Bruce has been my guardian, my father since my parents died." He looked up at the stars.

"He seems like a very kind man," Raven said quietly.

"Yes, he is kind. But he is more than that. He gave me a purpose, a reason to live. He gave me something to stand for. He is more than just Bruce Wayne. He is known as the Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader…"

"You mean he is….?" Raven asked in awe.

Yes, Raven. He is the Batman. He brought me into his home, dried my tears and relieved me of my nightmares and the dreams that haunted my mind. He made me who I am. He made me Robin."

"Why did you keep all of this from us?" Raven asked.

"I'm surprised you didn't know already. I've had a reputation as his sidekick." Robin laughed. "Anyway, I left him and started the Teen Titans."

"Why did you leave him?" Raven asked quietly.

"It was after an encounter with the Joker. I was hurt, although it wasn't too serious, I had a feeling it could get worse. He told me I couldn't be Robin anymore. He said that I should stop, for my own safety; I didn't want to hear it. I wouldn't listen to him. I told him if he wanted Robin to stay dead, then that was fine with me. My last words to him before I left were, 'You can't keep me from pursuing my destiny.' We didn't part under the best of circumstances, but we still have a mutual relationship, if you could call it that."

"I see. So this 'mutual' relationship, he supports your founding of the Teen Titans?"

"In a way, yes; he supports the Titans. He keeps my equipment, my technology, freeze disks, electric disks, Bird-a-Rangs in constant supply. But he never gives personal aid, just financial."

"When are you going to tell your parents…about what happened to them?"

"I don't know, Raven. It's a very hard thing, telling the people you love more than anything in the world that they're dead."

"You can't hide the truth forever. I saw inside your mind. I'm the only one in the Titans who knows about them."

"I know. It's something I'm dreading the moment that I have to tell them. I might have a nervous breakdown."

"You'll be fine Robin, but you have to tell them sooner or later."

"Yes, sooner rather than later. I can't keep the truth from them forever. No one could ever lie to my mom. I just don't know if I'll have enough strength to do it."

"I don't know about that. But I met your mother, and from what I've seen of her, I know you inherit many traits from your mother, her inner strength as well as her insanity."

Robin laughed. "Her insanity! Yeah, people at Haley's always said she wasn't quite all there."

Raven gave him a slight smile. "You saw the way she about pounded Warp half to death. I know that you're a lot like her. It's kind of obvious, you know."

"Yeah, my mom and I were very close."

"I can tell."

"We best be getting back inside. They're probably wondering where we are." They both walked back inside Titans Tower. He knew he would have to tell them. Indecision was lethal.

"You get one phone call Warp, if I was you, I'd call a good lawyer," the officer said, handing Warp a quarter.

Warp took the quarter and shoved it into the pay phone. He quickly dialed the number. "Sir," he said hesitantly. "The mission has failed."

"Isn't that obvious?" Slade's voice rang cold and hard in reply. "The Titans still exist, and Robin hasn't been destroyed!"

"I know Sir," Warp choked an answer. "Things have now become much more complicated."

"Complicated?" Slade asked. "What do you mean the situation is more complicated?"

"The boy's parents, they have followed me to the future," Warp replied.

"Hmm…followed you to the future," Slade was silent for a moment. "This may be a good thing."

"A good thing…Have I failed you, Sir?"

"Actually, you did quite well. I didn't actually expect for you to succeed. You are merely a means to an end. And you have actually given me a weapon to use against him."

"A weapon?"

"Yes, his parents will be his undoing."

"Thank you, Sir," Warp replied, grateful.

"Think nothing of it. Do not feel bad about your current situation. Things will work better than I had originally planned." He hung up the phone and Warp followed suit.

Slade smiled, his right eye gleamed white in the darkness. "So the boy's parents are here in our time. Good. I will use them to break him."