It had been a quit night at the cave. At the cave that is. It had been a pretty eventful night for the team. Clay-face had managed to escape from Belle-Reve and was causing his usual havoc in downtown Star City. The Team managed to dispatch him pretty simply. Robin managed to get the final blow with some explosive bat-o-rangs. He was feeling victorious, receiving high fives from beast boy and blue beetle.
"Way to go Ese!" beetle shouted.
"Ah it wasn't much" he chuckled. His rejoicing didn't last long however. Across the street he saw his leader, his mentor, his idol. Dick Grayson (or Night Wing). Dick Was happy and mellow at the cave before the call came in, but Robin could see that now he was distraught, but why? Whatever the reason, Dick's pain was Robins pain.
Shortly after dropping Clay-Face off back at Belle-Reve, Night Wing asked M'gann to drop him back off in Gotham. As he was exiting the Bio Ship, Batgirl decided to do the same. On her way out she saw Robin slumped in his chair. She walked up and gave him a hug.
"Stay strong" she whispered "I'll see you tomorrow" and with that, she left. She had been a sister to Robin, and Dick was the strong older brother. Robin would have gone with but he didn't want to be a bother. Since his parents died he chose not to rock the boat much.
Back at the cave the celebration of their victory continued. Beast Boy was going hoppy (in the form of a kangaroo no less) and his excitement was infectious. Even Super Boy grinned. The only one not enjoying himself was Robin. His actions went unnoticed to most, except M'gann. As Robin went into his room she fallowed and sat down silently next to him.
"What's wrong?" she tried to be casual about it but she didn't do a very good job.
"Can't you just read my mind or whatever?"
"I could but I've learned that it isn't very polite." She answered "besides, you've been part of the team for months and you've never really, you know 'opened up' as it were"
He sighed, he wanted to avoid having a talk like this for as long as he could. But he knew that in a life like this somebody would ask.
"Do you know how I became Robin?" he asked. She had a blank expression; the other Robins usually avoided talking about their lives pre-Batman. It was refreshing for her.
"Because Batman needed a partner after Jason Todd died?" she guessed.
He sighed again, he had almost forgotten about Jason. The second Robin.
"When I was a kid…I saw the flying Grayson's." He admitted "I met Dick. We…bonded. He did the most amazing acrobatics I had ever seen. That was the night Two-Face killed his family." M'gann sat in stunned silence. She didn't know any of this. But in retrospect, the way Robin looked at Night Wing, it made sense.
"During the chaos everyone was screaming and trying to get out. But I just sat there. I cried for the Grayson's like they were my own family. And from that day on I had an adoration for acrobatics. I felt if I learned the things that Dick knew because I almost felt that he could live on through me. I also got a passion for justice. I fallowed Batman and Robin religiously. I bought detective kits and I solved crimes throughout the neighborhood. I got pretty good too."
"So that's why you're abilities are so similar to Dick's!" M'gann interrupted.
"Yes, until one day I saw Batman and Robin flying through the air on tv. And I noticed a move, an acrobatic skill that I had only seen one other person in the world do. Dick Grayson. It had to be him. It HAD to be him. This is where the detective skills came in handy, and with about 80% luck I figured out Batman's secret identity too. I followed them, I took pictures. Then one day after Jason's death I confronted Dick. He took me to the mansion, he showed me the cave. It took some convincing from me, Dick and our butler but eventually Batman made me the new Robin…"
"I had no idea" M'gaan was standing next to him by this point.
"Yeah, the 'Batman Family' is pretty good at keeping secrets" he sat up. He was feeling better, like a weight had been lifted. "I'm Tim by the way, Tim Drake".
M'gaan smiled "It's good to finally meet you, Tim". She gave him an strong hug which he returned to her and they walked back into the main hall side by side.