Chapter 1
Media Field Day
Dick's POV
Dick slouched against the wall, preparing himself for the inevitable. It wasn't as if this was a real problem, not really, it was more of a nuisance if anything. And while annoying, it was his own fault he was here. Dick knew what he was getting into from the start, it just felt like a waste of time. Regardless of his thoughts on the matter, it was something he had to do, everyone had to deal with the press at some point. The Titans were more than used to it, they were exposed to everything from news cameras and journalists to excited civilians and their phones. And at this point in his life, Robin was nothing less than a public relations expert. He had grown up with all eyes on him in the center ring of Haley's Circus, then as Gotham socialite, and now as the leader of the Teen Titans. The problem at current was this wasn't about the Titans, and he wasn't currently Robin. At the moment he was Dick Grayson, adopted son of Bruce Wayne and the last of the Flying Graysons, and the press was going to descend upon him once they caught wind he was in Jump City.
Once it became clear Dick was serious about leaving Gotham, he and Bruce concocted the cover of boarding school for him. Suddenly disappearing from Gotham could be explained away through the context of schooling and it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for the kid of a socialite. What was out of the ordinary was not hearing from said kid for over a year. His cover would only work so long as he made appearances every now and again, staying active in the public eye. Dick hadn't anticipated the Titans. He hadn't anticipated practically living in his suit, letting his civilian self fade away. Needless to say, he had been slacking, and now he would be making up for it.
The Jump City Museum was hosting an exhibit on a collection of otherworldly debris that had crashed on Earth, and wasn't it just a lucky coincidence that Dick's final paper for school was on that very same topic? At least, that's the story he had given to the the museum's director the day before. Word needed to get out about his return somehow, and he knew that director would sell out to the paparazzi within minutes of hanging up the phone.
And so there he was, after an hour of wandering around the exhibit with no sign of the media in sight. Maybe that director was more discreet than Dick had given him credit for.
Sighing, Dick pushed himself off the wall, maybe he'd get lucky and one of the other museum patrons would recognize him. He wasn't picky, social media was as good a means as any for getting attention. Walking through the narrow archway into the next part of the exhibit, Dick found himself surrounded by otherworldly gems. They were nothing he hadn't seen before; priceless hunks of rock, a few probably imbued with power. It was interesting enough, but not why he was there. At this point he honestly just wanted to leave. It was almost a relief when the alarms went off.
His first thought was Thank God I can finally leave
His first thought was There's a criminal
His first thought was I'm not Robin
As panic quickly engulfed the room, Dick found himself slouching against the wall once again. There was little help he could provide outside his suit, and the other four Titans could handle whatever petty burglar or villain of the week was behind this without him.
Two gunshots pierced through the air, causing Dick to jump to attention. The loud array of panicked voices that had filled the room quickly turned into a quiet hysteria as the gunman made his presence known. Standing in the arched entrance way the man spoke in a calm, commanding manner.
"Sit down." He demanded.
Looking over at the man Dick felt his stomach drop, "Well, shit."