Chapter 3: End of an Era

Dick sat next to Barbara on the bed as Raven explained to them what had happened. The recent landslide of attacks from various villains, Terra being missing from the cavern. It all seemed to coincide with the threat Slade had sent the Justice League. Robin still hadn't told Raven of the loss of Aquagirl, or the recording Batman had shown him.

But sitting here, next to Barbara, both out of costume, was making him very uncomfortable. Not to mention the state Raven had seen him in when she arrived. He fought off the blush threatening to appear on his face. Luckily Raven had had the tact to not say anything about it. He didn't think he'd be able to take the mocking comments that would be sure to come from Barbara.

Of course, Raven's appearance also revealed what he'd already known. Something big was going on, and his being locked away in the mansion wasn't going to solve anything. Of course, knowing Bruce as well as he did, this safe room was probably more secure than Arkahm itself. Luckily though, Bruce had never met Raven. If she could use her powers to get into the room, she could just as easily use them to get both of them out.

"Babs, did Batman tell you how long he was going to be out on patrol tonight?" Dick asked. Barbara shook her head. Dick sighed. It would be tough, but with Raven's powers, he just might be able to make it. "Alright, here's the plan. Raven, I'll need you to use your powers to teleport us down to the Batcave. I'll need some equipment from there that I don't have at the Tower. After that, we'll regroup with the Titans, I have some news that they'll need to hear too."

Raven nodded her head, and began to envelop the three of them in her black aura, but Barbara stepped away.

"Whoa, hold on Dick. I'm not disobeying Batman. He told us to stay here until this whole mess was resolved."

Dick shook his head. "How can you say that? We have just as much at stake here as the League. We need to go out there and help them."

"No Dick, I'm sorry. If you want to ignore what Batman said, that's fine. But I'm staying right here until he tells me otherwise." Barbara said, stepping away from the two Titans. Dick stared at her in disbelief for a moment, and then composed himself. He looked back to Raven, and nodded his head. She closed her eyes, and the two sunk into her soul-self, before the shadowy substance phased through the floor. Barbara stared after them, a certain sense of loss on her face. She knew that that was probably the last time she'd see her old friend for a long time.

'Maybe even never again…' She thought, as she slowly sat down on the bed.

The form of a black raven appeared in the Batcave, depositing Dick and Raven onto the floor before receding back into Raven. She looked around, not quite sure what to expect of the fabled Batcave.

'The giant green dinosaur is a nice touch…' she thought to herself. She watched as Dick busied himself. He grabbed what looked like to be different utility belts, and a couple more of his Robin uniforms. "So, you have a last name Dick?" she asked half-mockingly. Robin had always kept the secrets of his past just that, secret. Even when she had been inside his mind, it was like watching a movie without any sound. She saw his parents die, but didn't know why.

"Grayson, Richard Grayson." Robin replied absently, looking for more equipment he thought he may need.

"Dick… Richard, I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier…" Raven said, pulling her hood forward more to hide her blush. Robin didn't notice, as he continued searching the cave.

"It's fine Raven, you couldn't have known, and I needed the information you had. Besides, I know you didn't mean too." He said, casting a look over his shoulders back at her. He couldn't be sure, but he thought she might have been blushing even more. He could feel her wanting to ask more, but the bond that told him that also told him she wouldn't invade his privacy like that. That was probably the thing he liked most about Raven. "Listen, I know you've been wanting to talk to me about what you saw when you were in my head. I appreciate that you've been willing to respect my privacy, but if there's something you want to know, you can ask." The statement caught her off guard. He could see her trying to retreat further under her hood, before she stopped herself.

"Alright… Richard. Can you just tell me how it started? Why you choose this life?" She asked cautiously, not sure she would like the answer. Robin's face clouded in a deep ridden sorrow for a moment, but he nodded.

"When I was twelve, I was working the trapeze with my parents. We worked for a place called Haley's Circus. It was my entire life, up until that night." His voice was getting thick, so he took a moment to clear his throat before continuing. "The owner of the circus was being threatened by a man named Boss Zucco for protection money. Haley wouldn't pay him, so Zucco hired some thug to teach him a lesson. That night, after we had finished our act, someone…" His voice trailed off again, his eyes taking a far away look.

"The man shot your parents?" Raven finished for him. Robin nodded.

"Yeah. To be honest I'm not really sure what happened after that. I was in shock. The next thing I know I was sitting next to him, next to Batman. But he wasn't scary or anything like I thought, he just looked at me, and said it would be alright. And you know, I believed him. He took me in, and trained me. He showed me how to take my acrobatic skills further, and taught me everything he knew about detective work and martial arts. He made me his partner, and he helped me bring the man who killed my parents to justice." Robin smiled bitterly at this point. "To be honest though, I think he was doing it as a test. I think he wanted to see if I'd give into the lust for vengeance and just kill Zucco myself. But I didn't, and afterwards he made me take the vow." Robin's chest tightened. The bond he shared with Raven made him feel like pouring his soul out to her, but he still had to keep Bruce's identity a secret. Only Bruce had the right to divulge that information to anyone else.

Raven for her part looked understanding, maybe even a little bit sad. "Is that why-" She began, but was cut off as a loud engine scream through the cave, a jet black car proceeding it. The car came to an abrupt stop near the two Titans, and the top opened up, the Dark Knight jumping out into the cave.

"Robin." Batman began, "I thought I told you to stay in the safe-room until I'd taken care of this." His voice was menacing, but Raven could also detect his true emotions. He was worried.

"I'm sorry Batman, but I have to go. The Titans need me, there's been some new developments." Robin said, realizing his story to Raven had taken up too much time. He'd have to watch himself. Bruce was like a father to him, but as Batman, he might try to put him back in the room again. And this time he'd definitely make sure that no amount of Titan's powers would get him back out.

"Inexcusable Robin. Your life might be in danger right now." Raven could sense another emotion emanating from Batman. One of resolve, that made his entire soul cringe.

"So are the Titans then, and as their leader I have a responsibility to help keep them safe." Robin retorted.

"The Titan's are all meta-human's Robin, they can handle themselves. I've trained you as best I can, but you're not Superboy. A bullet is faster than you, and it's deadly." Batman glared from under the cowl. His resolve was full, and he knew what he was going to have to do.

"You know me better than that. That's why you designed my uniform. Kevlar Nomex weave remember? Bulletproof and fire resistant. Plus I'm taking some of the gadgets we've been working, and don't forget, the Titans always help out in a pinch." Robin was confident, if one thing ever worked against and for Batman, it was logic.

It didn't seem to be the key to winning this battle though. Batman seemed to straighten out to his full height. Robin knew it was only an intimidation factor, that he wasn't actually getting any taller, but that didn't stop the sweat from beginning to bead on his forehead.

"Alright then Robin. You're fired." Batman said, his voice sounding like it was coming from a throat full of broken glass.

"Fired!" Robin replied incredulously. "You can't fire me! This isn't some part-time job."

"No, it's something much more important than that, and if you can't follow orders, then you can't be expected to be of any help. Leave the gadgets and the uniforms. I've already been to Titan's Tower, I have the rest of them. As of now, you are no longer Robin." Batman turned, his cape flaring out behind him as he walked further into the cave. Robin stared after him in disbelief. His surrogate father had just "fired" him from the only thing that gave his life any meaning. He felt despair wash over him, but it was quickly overcome by anger. He narrowed his eyes, and called after Batman.

"Suit yourself then, but this won't stop me! You should know better than anyone. I'll be back." He turned and looked at Raven, who nodded. No words were needed, as her soul-self covered the two of them, and whisked the miles away to Jump City. Batman glanced over his shoulder, making sure the two of them were gone, before opening up the communicator on his utility belt.

"Hello Flash? This is Batman. I need you to do something for me."

The other Titan's joy at seeing their leader returned was quickly replaced by quizzical looks as he stomped by them out of costume and straight to his room. They turned to look at Raven, who simply shrugged, before sitting down on the couch, summoning her book to her hands.

"Dude, what's going on?" Beastboy asked Cyborg. The mechanical teen shrugged his shoulders.

"Friend Raven, what is wrong with friend Robin?" Starfire asked, hovering over the couch.

"You should ask Robin." Raven stated simply. The others didn't seem to get the hint.

"What's going on Raven? Batman was here a few hours ago saying that Robin needed some of his equipment, and now Robin's back sans his "Robin-ness"." Cyborg was just as confused as the other three Titans.

"You should ask Robin." Rave repeated, continuing to read her book.

"But Robin's gone up to his room! You know how long he normally holes up in there. It might be another week before we see him again!" As usual Beastboy's exaggerations were met with Raven rolling her eyes.

"I shall go talk to friend Robin then, and ask where he left his Robinnest!" Starfire said, flying down the hallway towards Robin's room.

"That's Robin-ness Star, not nest!" Cyborg called after her.

Dick looked around his room. Bruce had systematically found all the places he hid his various tools, and confiscated them all. Apparently, he'd expected Dick to escape, just not as soon as he did. He slumped against the wall, and covered his head with his hands. Being Robin was all he'd known for years now. How Bruce could just take that away from him was bewildering to Dick.

He'd be damned if he let this stop him though. He still had his training, nothing Bruce did could ever take that from him. The rest was just materials, and he'd be able to get more of them.

The main problem stemmed from the fact that he was no longer 'Robin'. Even if he did take up his heroic identity again, he couldn't use Robin. Robin was Batman's sidekick, he was a symbol of the balance between light and darkness in Batman's crusade against crime. Robin would've never disobeyed a direct order. Dick was older now, and at least a little wiser. Robin was a defunct concept. The Dark Knight didn't need a sidekick, and Dick didn't need the Dark Knight.

That only left him with the problem of establishing a new heroic identity for himself.

He heard a knock on his door and shook himself from his reverie. Whatever he decided, it would have to wait. He had been in such a hurry to survey his losses, he'd completely forgot to tell the Titans about the threat from Slade, and about what happened between him and Batman. He walked over and keyed the door open. Starfire was floating in the hallway, looking curiously at her friend.

"Hey Star, sorry I stormed off," Dick said before she could say anything, "Let's go back down to the others. I've got to tell them what's happened."

Starfire smiled as the two of them walked down the hallway. "That is good to hear Robin. We were in most need of assistance in finding friend Terra." Starfire said, floating a little closer to Robin.

Raven looked up from her book as the two entered the living room. She hadn't really been interested in reading it, but as long as she held it in front of her, Beastboy and Cyborg normally left her alone. Richard looked resolved in her opinion, and Starfire once again looked happy.

A little too happy in Raven's honest opinion, feeling a slight pang of what she was sure was jealously. Starfire was practically hovering over Richard when the entered, and didn't look like she was likely to move from her proximity to him.

"Hey guys, sorry about what happened. I've got a lot to tell you guys." Robin began.

A/N: Chapter over, new chapter in about a week (hopefully, remember, I got to college and have a full time job. Writing time is normally sparse ;) Anywho, next chapter begins the good stuff. So, Review! I mean c'mon, this is a Titan's fic, it should have way more reviews than this :P Seriously, you guys are making me cry TT j/k