Disclaimer: The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation or development.

Author's Notes: This is a short follow up to my "Red Robin" fic. While I've planned out a few chapters it won't be nearly as long as the original fic. The idea came about whilst I was in a particularly dark mood and decided to subject poor Dick Grayson to a bit more "torture." However it wasn't until I received some encouragement by a reader to get me to go with this and do this. So now, let's twist the knife once more, for old time's sake shall we?

Return to Me

"I will always be here for you…

Chapter 1: He is here

...Dick...

Someone was calling his name again. It was a very soft sigh of a whisper. Lately he had been hearing it quite a bit and noticed it especially when he was alone. Just last week and even yesterday during patrol he could have sworn someone was calling his name over and over again...yearning for him...throughout the entire night. It was enough to make a man go crazy. Nothing in particular set it off and he didn't know what to make of it.

...Dick…

"DICK!" Starfire's shriek pulled him out of unconsciousness. With a gasp, Robin's eyes snapped open. Suddenly everything came back to him. They were fighting at the east docks when he had been abruptly blinded sided. Quickly, Dick shifted his body to right.

Crash! Plasmus' gelatinous fist shattered the pavement inches from Robin's head. With a sweeping flourish, Dick jumped back on his feet, ready to continue fighting. However, he was too late. Despite Starfire's struggling, Plasmus enveloped her completely, taking her deep into his radioactive core.

"Kory!" Robin's eyes widened, "Titans! We have to get her out of there, now! Plasmus' acid is going to digest her if she doesn't suffocate first."

"Workin' on it!" Cyborg nodded as he discharged his sonic cannon.

Leaping up into the air, Dick whipped out several cryo-disk explosives and showered them down at Plasmus. On contact, one by one, the disks detonated. Long spirals of ice instantly crackled across Plasmus' exterior, freezing him in mid motion within a fraction of a second.

"Ahhhh!" Knuckles white, Dick swung his Bo staff back and forth across the frozen blob. Slowly, small, frozen pieces of Plasmus began to chip off. He had to work fast. He had to get Kory out before the ice melted.

Barbara! I'm coming! The memory of himself struggling to break the ice wall in Mr. Friese's ice cavern to save Barbara flitted across his mind. Why was he thinking of that now?

Ching! All of the sudden, Dick's metal alloy staff shattered. Throwing the fragments to the side, he pounded his fists against the rock solid muck before him. His fists began to burn as he felt the knuckles of his gloves begin to tear away.

Finally, the weakened ice cracked and fell to the ground, exposing an unexpectedly soft inside.

"Kory!" Out of breath, Robin clawed madly, the soft mud-like substance running between his fingers, "Kory can you here me?" Dick's eyes, throat, and fingertips began to burn as the Plasmus' radioactive exterior was quite caustic and fumous. "Kory!!" Dick's eyes began to water.

As time past, Robin clawed more and more frantically. It was like no matter what he did. No matter how hard he dug, everything would just fill in and smooth over with more slippery muck. As the ice began to melt, water mixed with the sludge making it run more fluidly over Dick's hands.

"Dick! Get back," Robin finally heard Cyborg who had been shouting at him. His voice came from far behind Dick.

"Dude! Look out!" Beast Boy shouted.

The sun and summer heat had made the ice very thin very quickly. Robin whipped his head up just in time to see Plasmus break through the top of the ice shell.

"Reeah!" Plasmus let out a multi-harmonic hiss and shook off the rest of the ice fragments.

Dick's eyes grew wider as he found that he could not pull away. His hands were now completely buried within Plasmus. He took in a deep breath as Plasmus, unfazed by the sonic and telekinetic blasts from the other Titans, descended down upon him.

"Robin!" Raven gasped.

The Titans let out battle cries together as they attacked Plasmus with everything they had, filling the air with smoke and dust. The smoke hung heavily in the air in an odd pause after the onslaught. "Did we get him?" Cyborg began to relax his cannon.

With a roar, Plasmus leapt out of the smog, spitting acid at the remaining Titans.

"It's no use," Raven flew back, swiftly dodging the acid, "he's gotten too big!"

Just as Plasmus began to advance on them, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and began to jerk around and twitch.

Suddenly, there was a muffled bang and all of Plasmus' eyes widened as if shocked. Ice crystals burst out from beneath the surface of Plasmus' body, one or two popping a few of his green eyes.

"Whoa," was all Beast Boy said while the rest remained silent.

Despite Plasmus' violent thrashing, the ice crystals grew larger and more frequent, overtaking him. Finally, he fell to the ground, face down and frozen solid. Cold steam rolled off his body.

Slowly, the Titans crept up towards the fallen heap that was Plasmus. All of the sudden, with a shout, Robin came bursting out of the frozen heap with Starfire in his arms. The ice fragments glistened in the sun as they fell from the air.

"Robin!" Everyone gasped.

Though he was heaving and coughing, Robin laid Kory down on the pavement and began to perform the set mechanical motions of CPR. "Come on Kory. Come on. Stay with me now."

After a prolonged moment, the Tamranian finally coughed and gasped. Dick smiled weakly, resting his hand on her smooth cheek.

Heart still pounding, Dick flinched when Raven touched his shoulder. "Sorry, Raven," he said, "you scared me."

The corners of Raven's lips curled slightly in a mild smirk, "I seem to have that affect on a lot of people. She took Dick's hand and removed the glove, "But let Cy and Beast Boy take care of Kory and I'll heal those acid burns for you."

"Raven, it's OK," Dick insisted, still out of breath, "I'm fin—"

Dick… a whisper caused him to glance behind him and then, upon seeing no one, look around quickly.

"Kory, was that you?" Was he imagining things, again?

"Robin," Raven furrowed her brow, "Your hands are…they don't have any burns... Robin you're--"

Dick… When he heard the voice a second time it was unmistakable. He would know that voice anywhere. "…It can't be…" Eyes wide, Robin turned back around slowly.

My God...

There he was. Just beyond Raven, standing on the edge of the dock in the far distance, a flock of seagulls flying past him and out towards the bay. Their shrill cries echoing in the wind. Their pure white wings, his white trench coat, and his platinum blonde hair reflected beautifully in the golden sunlight.

He was watching Robin. How long had he been watching him? He was smiling at him. His blue eyes were grinning…Those eyes…

"No…it can't be…" Dick rose slowly.

"Robin?" Raven's voice fell on deaf ears. Before she could stop him, he was gone, breathlessly sprinting towards the distant dock.

Author's notes continued: OK, I admit that this chapter was a bit short and things were a bit sudden but I figured it was best to get started in the middle of action. I'm not sure if this will be as good as the first fic, but there is a plot…a small little plot. Besides this is just for fun and I hope you guys enjoy it.

Let me know what you think! Comments are always good .

(PS Again, thanks to the reader who really gave me the motivation to start again. You know who you are :D )