Chapter One
It was about 3:00 in the morning, and Robin was stalking a mafia thug, waiting for him to meet up with his boss, who in turn worked for Great White. The issue was waiting. Robin was accustomed to staying up day and night frequently- with naps every once in a while (after all, he was a Bat) - but he had not slept in a week, for fear of the nightmares that were certain to plague him.
Every time he closed his eyes for more than a second, he saw his father, with a boomerang in his chest, warning him that being Robin was dangerous- deadly. He saw Kon, his best friend, being beaten and bashed by Superboy-Prime, with himself far away with no way of helping. If only he had chosen to go on the mission to Luthor's base, instead of staying in Metropolis. Of course, he could not have done anything, because he was just a powerless kid. Even with all of his training, his intelligence and his skill, he could not save the ones he loved.
It's not that Tim was sad by nature; it's just that everyone he loved was dead. Even though Bruce and Dick tried to comfort him, he was still drifting- no, more like plummeting into depression. Mom, Dad, Steph, Kon, even all of those nameless innocents that he failed –that he was just two seconds too late to save. It was like they were all following him; blaming him for their deaths, but when he turned around, they were gone.
There was no one to help him. After all, Bruce was so dark he would make Tim feel worse, and Dick was around so rarely; Tim never even really saw him anymore. He just wished he had Kon or Bart to talk to, but they were gone; Kon dead and Bart an adult with no desire to even associate with him. So, as a result he was doing the only thing he knew would make him feel better, beating up bad guys.
It took another hour before someone finally arrived. The problem was that it was not who Robin had been hoping for.