A dark night fell upon jump city. Titans tower was quiet. The sun had set and they were all in bed. But what took place the next day would change them all forever…
It was a bright and beautiful day. All the titans were the same as ever. Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing video games, Raven was meditating and was yelling at Beast Boy to quiet down, and Starfire was just, well… Starfire. Robin awoke that morning and checked the date. "January 19," he said, "today's the day." He went into the kitchen. But when he glanced at Starfire, she saw something in his eyes that she has never quite seen before. He looked child-like, sad, hurt, vulnerable, scared, and in need of guidance.
"Hello Robin." Starfire said cheerfully.
"Hi Star." He said as he forced a smile.
"um… Robin," Starfire asked, "is everything ok?"
"No." He said flatly.
"what is wrong?" Starfire asked, concerned.
"My parents." He said, fighting back tears.
"Dude, you never talk about your parents, what's up?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yeah man, how come you never talk about them?" Cyborg wondered
"I hate to say it, but the green weed's got a point," said Raven, "you never talk about them." " you can tell us if you want to" she remarked.
Robin didn't say anything for a minute, but then walked down to the garage and picked up an old, dusty box.
"If you guys really want to hear about my parents then you better get over here, because I don't want to tell this story again." Robin yelled. The Titans gathered around the semi- circle couch.
"I was born in Haley's circus- you know, the one in Gotham?" he asked. They all nodded as Robin continued:
"my parents were trapeze artists, as I used to be." He said. Robin felt like he was going to snap, so he simply said: "just watch this tape." All the titans watched him leave the room as Cyborg popped the tape in.
after a few seconds of blue, the tape began.
"And now!" the ringmaster exclaimed, "please join me in welcoming the fearless flying Grayson's! the crowd cheered in thunderous applause. "as always they will be performing their daring feats without the safety of a net!" A light- brown haired woman and black haired man stood next to each other on a platform, wearing identical red outfits.
The titans assumed that they were Robin's parents.
They took off, doing fantastic stunts and wondrous tricks.
"And now," the ringmaster shouted "for the youngest member of this amazing family!" the bright white spotlight shone on a child who looked no older than nine. He waved to the crowd and they all cheered.
But then, Robin looked up and saw the hooks that held the trapeze give in. There was a terrified look on his fathers face.
"Dick!" his mother screamed as she fell.
"No!" Robin screamed. There was a loud gasp from the audience. And then the titans saw what they never thought they would see. They saw their leader broken-down, crying in the face of defeat.
There was a second of fuzz on the tape, and then it resumed. The flashing lights of the ambulance shone through the windows of the circus as the ambulance carried the bodies onto stretchers.
"no!" Robin screamed. "Please don't take mommy! I want her to stay here with me!" he cried. "wake up! Please mommy, wake up!" he draped his body over his mom and cried desperately. The camera fuzzed again and then it showed a dark and scary cemetery. Then the Titans stopped the tape. They all looked around and saw the sad looks on each other's faces. They now knew every question about the subject that was always jammed in their minds, and now they were being slammed in the face with it.
Even Raven, who never showed any emotions, looked sad and sympathetic for Robin. Starfire looked at the date on the tape and realized that the day that happened was today.
"no wonder our friend is sad and glum." Starfire said. Then they all had the same look on their faces and looked at each other and nodded. They knew what they wanted to do.
About an hour after Robin gave the rest of the Titans the tape, Robin heard a knock on his door. It was Starfire.
"We have reviewed the tape you have given us and we are sympathetic." She said. "Tell me, will you visiting the cem of terry today?" Robin only nodded in response.
"Please, may we join you?" Robin hesitated, then nodded yes.
In Gotham cemetery
All the titans were just arriving at the cemetery. Robin lead them in. They all had never been so quiet. Beast Boy wasn't even feeling up to telling jokes. They finally reached the grave stones. Robin had to try his hardest not to cry, even though he knew it was ok. In the end, he did, he dropped to his knees, buried his head in his hands and cried. All the Titans looked sympathetic for Robin, as he lay two red roses across the graves and then left solemnly.
The next morning he felt a little better as looked for the promise of a new day and a new horizon.