Changes

This takes place three months after Robin's first attack on the Titans as Slade's apprentice. After Apprentice Part 1, it has sections from Apprentice Part 2 and some references from the comics.

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own any of these great characters; they all belong to their rightful owners.

Richard stood under the spotlight, frozen. He was aching to run, to fight, to do something. He had been standing in the brilliant white light for hours, unmoving. His tense muscles were cramping and he was frustrated, however, he managed to keep his breathing even and his face neutral.

It was all for them.

He had to keep them safe, even at his own cost. He would do whatever Slade wanted until he could assure his friends safety. Since Batman fired him and his parents passed, they were the only family he had, the only thing that mattered.

Dick's shoulders tenses as he felt Slade's single gray eyes lock onto him somewhere beyond the white circle of light. Slade was watching him, off and on, carefully making sure Dick didn't move and inch.

Slade took a step forward just at the rim of the circle eyeing his apprentice's calm frozen form. Dick could only see Slade's silhouette floating ominously just out of reach. It had been over three months he had been Slade's unwilling slave. He fought the system every step of the way, he never lost hope. He realized without hope he could easily slip into Slade's ways.

"Richard," Slade began stepping up to his orange and black clad apprentice. Dick refused to move or even acknowledge the other man's presence.

"I think your friends are a distraction from your masterly of this…art, a road block of sorts." Slade spoke deliberately and was pleased when Dick's unmasked bright eyes darted to him and his jaw locked.

Slade narrowed his charcoal eye and calculated his next move. "I have a job I want you to do. It's in Jump City. Wayne Enterprises has a building, for their experimental military technology section, on the north side of town. I would like you to go and snatch me an item."

Slade paused as a small smirk pulled at his lips behind the mask, "I'm sure you remember the place. It is the same place where your first mission for me as my apprentice took place. That mission was a success as far as getting the right people interested in your activities and this small break-in should pull the bat from the cave."

Dick ground his teeth. Beside the first mission, their jobs had been all over the world, on radar but out of reach for both the Titans and Batman. This will bring them both out to the scene and Dick was sure that Slade didn't want some petty weapon. The man wanted to show off his newest and most powerful weapon:

Dick.

Slade finished giving the details to his frozen apprentice. He was pleased at how well the boy had listened to him. Maybe after all this training he will finally gain some patients, discipline, and respect. Maybe respect was going too far. Before he could gain that he would have to break the boy and that was exactly what this mission was all about.

As Slade was about to turn away he produced Dick's black and white mask and a weapon he has selected. It was a small silver laser, not deadly but powerful.

As Slade reached the edge of the lit circle Dick spoke out, "You promised not to hurt them unless I disobeyed you. You can't hurt them for I have done nothing wrong in three months!" Slade stopped moving and narrowed his eye with his back to the young teen. Slade hated to hear the boy so caring about his precious Titans. Of course that's what happens when you create something great.

Dick was the leader of the Teen Titans as Robin and had taken a group of misfits and molded them into a team only topped by the JLA. Slade knew all about wanting to protect and control something he created. He molded Dick into a villain and a good one at that. He wanted Dick to submit to him and only him. That being why the Titans must go, along with a certain bat, if Slade could be so lucky. Slade also used the logic of protecting your creation to know that Batman would show tonight to regain the son and partner he was losing.

"Richard just do the job and don't ever think of challenging me like that again." Slade's voice was like acid and sent a shiver down Dick's spine. Slade disappeared from view and Dick place the mask over his blue eyes. He fitted the weapon on his wrist and stepped out of the spotlight and into the dark warehouse.

Gears grinded in the background as he walked silently through the dark building. His eyes ached as they were forced to adjust from the brilliant white light to the thick gloom beyond it. He reached the garage and stepped onto his sleek black motorcycle. He slipped on his ear piece and activated it, then jammed on his back helmet.

With a roar of the bikes powerful engine he was gone. The warehouse had an underground garage that opened into the large pipes of Jump's drainage system. Puddles of molding water covered the floor as he pulled away from the hideout.

He activated a door at the end of the drain forcing the grate to open. He launched out of the pipe and into a wide wet ditch. It was cold outside and the night was thick. He could feel the weather seeping into his Kevlar suite.

He sped through the city at 170 mph. His bike was enhanced with a stolen microchip, much like his R-cycle, minus the stolen part. The city was filled with people and Dick had to work as to not crash into any of them.

Only once did a cop think about stopping his suicidal rampage. The lights went off almost a quickly as they came on. The second the cop got a good look at Dick's black and orange outfit and the familiar black bike, the flashing lights disappeared. There was many a warning about this character and the cop knew that this was the meta-humans area, not his.

Dick saw the lights go on and then back off and knew that soon the Titans would be tailing him as soon as the cop could call in the report. Along with the Titans, Batman will get wind of the report and be on his was just in time for the show at Wayne Enterprises.

Dick couldn't shake the felling that Slade had an additional plan and it was going to be bad. Dick took a deep breath and focused on his trials with the Titans and his friendship with all of the members. He thought about his attraction to Starfire, though that only went as far as physical attraction and a standard friendship. He thought of his brother like relationship with both Beast Boy and Cyborg. Finally he thought of his crush on a certain black haired Goth, Raven.

Dick locked his jaw as he thought of Slade hurting any of them. His hands tightened around the handle bars as he leaned into a tight turn.

Dick saw the brilliant white letters of Wayne atop a nearing building and a picture of Bruce came to mind. Batman and Bruce had always been there for him up until recently. Batman had made Robin chose between the Titans or Batman. Robin refused to make the choice so Batman made it for him by firing him. Batman had only meant to fire Robin but Richard was not as good as separating his personas as Bruce and Dick got the impression the Richard Grayson was being thrown out as well. This put a tremendous strain on their father-son relationship.

At the time Dick knew that he would have to retire the Robin costume and go at something else. He was thinking of going as Nightwing as Starfire had mentioned from her future experience. That all seemed so long ago in comparison to everything that is happening now. Now it didn't matter whether he was Robin or not. He was Richard Grayson, Slade apprentice.

Dick thought of the fight that was to come and he knew that if Slade showed up he would have to choose sides. Dick closed his eyes and sighed as he pulled to a stop a block from the building. He would fight for his friends even if it meant his life. He couldn't protect them forever. He will have to count on Batman to help him when everything goes to hell.

He would have to get Daddy's help.

Please let me know what you think... this is my first fanfiction.