I got this idea after finishing Batman: Arkham Knight. WARNING: HUGE SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING OF THE GAME!
Consider yourself warned. *tips hat*
PS: I'm not really a TimxBarbara shipper, but I felt like I had to include it because it was in the game.
Four of the five Titans sat there in silence, wide eyes trained on the TV-screen.
Bruce Wayne was Batman?! No one would've expected that.
Starfire bit her lip as she stared at the burning Wayne Manor on the screen, it had blown up right after the man who owned it walked in. It didn't take a master detective to guess he was dead.
"Friends," she whispered, her voice cracking as her eyes scanned the room, looking for a certain Titan that was the cause of her worrying. "Have any of you seen Friend Nightwing?"
It was as if her words started a chain reaction, Cyborg froze, Beast Boy froze. Raven just sighed and snapped her book shut with one hand. "He's in Gotham." She stated, her voice flat.
She pulled her hood up, hiding her facial expression from the others. "For the funeral and to comfort his friends and family who knew who Batman really was. Or anyone that was allied with him, you get the idea."
"You sure he's stable?" Cyborg asked. "I mean, we all saw how he reacted about Slade causing trouble, let alone a loved one dying..."
"I think he's the one who needs comforting..." Beast Boy muttered, his ears lowered as he stared at the ground.
The half-demon calmly got up and tucked her book underneath her cloak. "Trust him, he can handle it." It isn't the first time, she didn't add.
With that, she disappeared, reappearing in her room.
Raven sat down on her bed, her legs crossed as she pulled her hood down and sighed. She hated keeping things from her friends, but she made a silent promise to Nightwing. She was pretty sure that if he hadn't told her the truth, she'd probably have the same reaction as them.
"Okay, what am I missing?" Raven asked, her Amethyst eyes watching in disbelief as he calmly packed his things.
They were in his room, her leaning against the door with crossed arms as she watched him. The news of Batman's death had just arrived, but what freaked her out more was that her boyfriend just smiled and rolled his eyes before packing his things to go to Gotham for a few days.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He shrugged, his voice nonchalant.
Raven frowned and pushed herself away from the door, walking his way and reaching up to place the back of her hand on his forehead, checking his temperature.
Nightwing chuckled and gently removed her hand, holding it in his instead. "Raven, I'm fine."
She blinked. "Didn't you hear what Tim said on the phone?"
"Yep, Bruce is dead," he shrugged, popping the 'P'.
"Are you sure you didn't get a concussion when Mammoth knocked you to the ground yesterday?"
He rolled his eyes and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Bruce is dead, but Batman isn't."
"Aren't they the same...?"
"Yes, but there's a difference, believe me. And his death? It's just Project Knightfall." He walked out of his room and made his way to the garage, dragging the stunned half-demon with him.
"Dick, you're seriously not making any sense. Are you in denial?" She blurted.
Nightwing shook his head and leaned against the T-ship*, he fished his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Check my last message."
From: Alfred Pennyworth
Project Knightfall has been activated.
"In case something like this happened and everyone knew who Batman really was, he was prepared to stage Bruce Wayne's death. 'Killing' him, but allowing Batman to live on." He explained. "Alfred send that text to all of us. Me, Tim, Babs, Jason*, the whole Bat Family. Just so we knew what was going on."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "Bat Family?"
"Yeah..." he looked away, a little embarrassed. "Joker called us that once, it kinda stuck."
"I can see that," she was going to have so much fun with this. "Why Knightfall?"
"You know how people call him sometimes 'The Dark Knight', well, with 'Knightfall' he means 'The Fallen Knight'. That idea was all Bruce, I had nothing to do with that." The acrobat promised. "I would've gone for something cooler, even though the plan for all of us is called Knightfall..."
Her eyes narrowed. "All of you?"
Nightwing cursed. "Damn, it's just so easy to slip up with you. There might be a 'suicide' plan for all of us..." he mumbled, his voice getting softer as he talked. He cringed when she glared at him.
"Richard Grayson, I swear if you ever make me suffer through thinking you're dead then I'll kill you and haunt you forever!" She hissed, her second set of eyes opening.
He flinched. "How would you-"
"I'm a half-demon and a daughter of Trigon, also the most powerful among my brothers*. Don't question me." She deadpanned.
"Of course I'd tell you," he assured. Hesitantly taking her hands in his and only relaxing when her second set of eyes disappeared. "I need to go, can't be late for the funeral, I'm supposed to be the grieving son. Besides, Barbara would kill me if I'm not at the wedding."
Raven blinked, this night was just full of surprises, wasn't it? "Wait, what?"
Nightwing smiled. "Tim and Barbara are getting married. Won't be anything big, we need to lay low, especially since Bruce will probably show up."
"Your little brother is marrying your ex girlfriend." She stated, something in that sentence wasn't quite right, but who was she to judge? She was born because her mother got sacrificed to Trigon by a demonic cult.
He shrugged. "Doesn't matter, I have you." He kissed her, not even having to tell her not to tell anyone about all of this. She already knew the rule everyone allied with Batman had to follow: The less people know, the better.
Raven answered her T-communicator without looking, already knowing who it was. "It's on the news, the others are worried. After the paranoia you showed with Slade, they don't think you can handle it."
"Yeah, fun fact. I just found out that 'Slade' is actually a Gotham villain I had encountered before with Bruce, his went by Deathstroke then, don't know why he decided to reveal his real name. He remembered me, which is why he always was one step ahead, I just didn't remember him.*"
"I...am not going to comment on that...How are you holding up?" She asked, changing the subject smoothly and turning her head so he couldn't see her rolling her eyes.
"First of all, I know you're rolling your eyes. And secondly, I'm doing fine, it's just awkward to see Silena holding back tears. She really thinks he's dead, I'm surprised though, didn't think Catwoman could cry."
"She has a heart too, Nightwing. Everyone does, some people are just good at hiding it."
"Just like you," he winked.
Raven could faintly hear the sound of a woman calling Nightwing's real name. The purple-cloaked Titan held back a laugh when her leader paled, already knowing enough to guess who the voice belonged to.
"Shit, Barbara may be wheelchair bound, but she's still scary as hell." The acrobat confessed. "If I don't make it out alive, I love you." He hung up.
Raven rolled her eyes, a slight smile on her face.
*The one they used to get to Tameran, when Star was getting 'married' in 'Betrothed'.
*In my eyes, Jason is still part of the family. He helped Batman in the end.
*Yes you read that right, Raven has brothers. Six of 'em, they're based on the Seven Deadly Sins. I know what you're thinking: 'lovereading2, if there are seven sins then why does she only have six brothers? That's because our dear sweet Raven is Pride.
*It always annoyed me for some reason that they didn't just call him Deathstroke and went for his real name instead. Might as well throw his kids Rose and Joseph in as well...Wait, fuck. Joseph was in the show. Remember Jericho? Yeah, he's Slade's son...