Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." – Margaret Mead

Welcome to Tokyo!

Robin, you're under arrest.

I love you, Robin.

So many things had changed since he had come back from Tokyo. There was no crime which meant no excuses of not spending time with his team. No excuses for being locked in his room. No excuses for his obsession. While his team was enjoying the peace and quiet by trying new things, he had made sure a certain one-eyed villain did not come back to haunt them. Ever since the end of the world (which turned out to not be the end of the world) Robin knew he would return. His friends called it paranoia, he called it precautions.

He had to be behind this plot, well whatever this plot was. He still hadn't figured it out. How could a supposed girl suspended in rock and a white monster fit together? And what did this have to do with Jump?

A yell broke out from the main room. Robin jumped from his desk. As he settled down, he sighed. His team never stayed quiet, whether it was from BeastBoy and Cyborg fighting over food or video games, Raven getting fed up with the group or Starfire's joy. But he could never stay mad at any of them, especially Star. They were too much like family.

"Hey Robin, come here. Your girlfriend wants to see you" he could imagine how much Cy was enjoying this.

He really didn't know if Star and he were "together". They kissed once in Tokyo, and when they first met which didn't really count, but they never did anything together. Robin couldn't blame Starfire for that though. She really did love him and tried to include him in her adventures but they was just so much going on right now. For example, this new mystery, which he needed to devote his entire attention to.

"Robin!" he sighed as BeastBoy slid into the room.

"What don't you see I'm busy?" Robin huffed out.

"I saw Terra-"

"You already told us thi-,"

"Will you just let me talk?! I saw Terra and Slade!"

"WHAT?" Robin spun around making BeastBoy jump out of his skin, "Tell me everything about him. Where did you see him?"

"But Rob, dude it was just a robot and this is about Terra."

"Where. Did. You. See. Him." BeastBoy hated when Robin was like this, when Slade was around to ruin their days.

"The old pier, but what about-"

"Goodbye Beastboy." And with that Robin left.

Oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

BeastBoy seethed. Slade, always Slade. Robin just never had enough time to listen to him, was it because he was the "weakest" on the team? Well he was growing up. He was realizing some things. He gave a short laugh, so unusual from the one he was used to giving. So much darker. He was so naïve when Robin was taken away from them. Robin and Slade were one of the same people. Robin always blamed Slade for his actions, how he was going to enslave the city, but really Robin was tearing the city's saviors apart. He, the glue, could not hold the team together forever.

He sighed and took a deep breath. He needed to calm down. Slade was the one to blame, not Robin. Slade was the one to turn Robin into what he was today. He could never understand what Robin went through, having to live with a sadistic manipulator even if it was only for a couple of days. What would it be like to have your own morals twisted back to haunt you? To have your own dark side unleashed? To have that man haunt you even to the end of the world. Slade had made Robin into this man, into a rough copy of himself, even if Robin hasn't realized it yet. And Raven said he wasn't smart.

Slade was also the one to rip Terra away from him. He loved her and grieved so much and now she was back. He wanted her to come back, to become a Titan, to become his again. When he saw her sitting right in front of him, he really did try to love her again. But all that he saw was her lanky figure, her greasy blond hair, her shameful, unconfident face, and her hands stained with blood.

They were drenched in it. He was so mad at her for everything. She killed his friends, destroyed the city, and sided with the enemy. But most of all she was happy, happy without him. He knew they would never love each other again. Sadly, he didn't care. He couldn't stand to look at her. He tried to put up the fake visage but when Terra told him to move on, he was relieved. They were at two different points in their lives. He needed to find someone that knew how to adapt, to survive. Someone that could fly in the black of night.

xoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxox

How could someone disappear that fast? 'Oh, well you did that in Tokyo pretty well.' Robin sighed, he'd done it. He had become a criminal to stay alive. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Slade would just revel in the fact that his "teachings" had been put to use. He smiled, knowing how the mighty mastermind would smirk at him and taunt him. Going to hell and back really brought two enemies together, or at least revealed some things about each of them. But Robin had promised to keep that a secret. After all what goes on in hell stays in hell.

xoxoxoxoxo

Robin went up to the rooftop of a nearby building. The moonlight illuminated his figure; he had really grown up in the past month. He was taller and was starting to fill out. He was becoming more muscular and he had that scowl on his face, deep in contemplation. 'Oh poor Robin, didn't I tell you the world was never so black and white?'

His feet touched the ground ever so slightly, but it was almost as the boy could sense the mastermind's presence. "Slade." It was hissed out venomously, but the boy did not move to fight.

"Why, hello Robin. Aren't you going to attack? You did say you wouldn't hold back."

"Things change, Slade." After a slight pause he breathed out, "I want answers."

"Don't we all, Robin."

"Stop mocking me, I'm sick and tired of this, all of this." He spat out motioning to the city, "I try and protect this every day, and for what, a small iota of thanks? It weighs on my soul, Slade. I'm only sixteen, not even an adult; I can't handle this on my own. And my team does nothing! There all 'party here' 'fun there', they are children."

Slade barely has enough time to dodge the incoming punch.

"Why did you take me in the first place? Why did you manipulate Terra? Why did you destroy my family?" Slade stopped Robin's punch in mid attack, and Robin slid to his knees, defeated, "Why am I so different, so much like you?"

"I have told you before, Robin, you are different because you understand the world. How this world is not defined by 'good' or 'bad' but by the immense gray scape. You are like me because it is as simple as that. You were my apprentice because you were the perfect fit, as well did Terra at the time."

"Stop, she was a great hero, who died for the city."

"Do you really think that pathetic excuse for a lie convinces me, Robin?"

Robin rose from his position and paced to the edge of the building. He looked down at the water and then up to the moon. He turned around and was smirking at Slade. "It's kind of funny, I talk more to you then to my teammates. They have been trying to get me to open up to them for months, and here I am opening up to my adversary. What is under that mask, Oprah's face?"

This boy was bipolar, he was sure of it. Slade was seeing a side to the boy he had never seen, this side was all that was left of the Gotham Robin. "Is this how you deal with stress, Robin? Joke about your problems?"

Robin's smirked instantly vanished. He rushed up to Slade, "I just want to know what you are planning. What that white monster is and why that, that traitor Terra is doing alive."

"You are the detective. You can't expect me to hand feed you every detail. It is just like the apprenticeship a year ago."

"That wasn't my fault-"

"Oh yes it was." Slade started to circle around Robin, eying his prey, "If you had been smarter, you could have stopped it before it started. If you had been stronger, you could have defeated me in battle. And if you had just been a little more pure, you wouldn't have had that pent up fury and darkness inside you."

"Stop, please stop." Robin begged.

"Oh but Robin, I am helping you to realize your mistakes, as would a former mentor do." Robin flinched at that word, "You enjoyed stealing from Bruce Wayne, fighting your friends, and learning to be better than the rest. Admit it, Robin; you are controlled by your dark side more than you think."

Slade had expected a little more fight in the boy; it wasn't hard to defeat him. He was already defeated when they met. He carried himself with shame and you could see his face aged from the world and expectations he was carrying on his back. If only his little bird had accepted the deal. All this would go away.

"I… I became a criminal in Japan." He said it as if Slade did not already know this, "Go ahead, say it."

"Say what Robin?"

"I am exactly like you. I deserved what I got. I am a criminal; I don't deserve to call myself a hero. I-"

Slade quickly stopped him. This was not the boy he wanted as his apprentice. He wanted the real Robin. If Robin was to break, he would at least by the one to do so. "You are a hero. I hate to say it but you are as good as bad. Do not despair, boy, you are strong-willed. It would be a pathetic excuse as a victory for me to see you defeated this way. You wonder what I saw in you, Robin. Someone who could withstand my harsh training and be able to adapt. If your sorry excuses for friends don't understand that, it is their fault. Do not beat yourself up for their beliefs. They are fools who see the world through a tinted glass."

"Why are you doing this?"

"You are broken; I as a former mentor am picking up the pieces and stitching you back together."

"If that was true, I would have been calling you "master". What is your real reason? Have you given up against the Titans?"

Slade sighed. The boy should have stopped; it would have prevented the worries to come. "No. I have merely reevaluated my priorities." He smirked, "What makes you think I want you back as my apprentice?"

"Well, I … I didn't. I mean, well I don't know." Robin kept stuttering out his explanation when he finally realized something, "Wait, what do you mean "reevaluated your priorities"?"

"I merely mean, Robin, I have neglected my business. Trying to kill your pathetic friends is time consuming."

"My friends, what about me?" Robin questioned.

"You are a smart boy, Robin. You almost did figure it out. You did assume it earlier." Realization dawned on the boy, "I always keep my promises, apprentice. Terra was a tool and Raven was a contract. It was always about you, boy. Did you not understand this? I will force you to see the truth, I will force you to accept your dark side, and finally embrace it. We both know we trust each other too much to be nemeses. Besides, your friends won't be here forever, I will make sure of it."

A fight was brewing. Slade was tensing anticipating Robin's attack and Robin's face was scrunching up in fury. As the two fighters were about to commence the fight a voice broke through.

"Robin, where are you? Robin please respond! Where are you, Robin?"

Robin rushed his hand to hover over the communicator. His eyes looked around, trying to find the masked mastermind. It was no use; the man had disappeared into the shadows.

"Enjoy it while it lasts, apprentice. I have business to attend to. But do not fret, apprentice, I will return. And while you're at it, say 'hi' to Terra for me."

Robin smirked. That man really did know how to make an exit. But Robin knew what he had to do. He could worry about Slade for years without that man coming back or he could live his life one day at a time. He just needed to make that choice.

"Hey Star, would you like to go to a movie tonight?"

Well here you go Ida. I hope you like it. Thank you to all you have read this and who have spent just a minute of their time reviewing my stories and helping me to improve. I really appreciate it.

The beginning is so true. We are the future writers, the people who are going to shape the world. So world watch out! (cheesy line right there XD)

Merci beaucoup,

Sadie