A/N (DarkGirlRavenGrayson): Since we've only written one chapter so far, I've decided to edit and alter this slightly with some newer ideas. I repeat to everyone who has already read this chapter - this is a reedited first chapter. A better one too, so reread it to see more in character characters and overall changes. To everyone new - please enjoy and get on board. Hopefully you all still enjoy this new story I'll be posting – no promises on how frequent updates will be as per usual like my other stories because 1. I am in college 2. This is a collab with TheNightWingX, so it's going to have to be done when we both have time and 3. I do still have two other uncompleted stories I also have to (try) to attend to.

This will be a bit different and darker/intense than previously tried in other stories since our writing styles are clashing and intermingling a bit, so we'll see how this goes. Another side note – if you aren't familiar with the other Batman's, meaning Terry, just know he is one of them in the future. Anyone who watched Batman Beyond or knows of him will get this just fine. This is primarily set in the future and a crossover for all the Bat characters I need to fit in.

A/N (TheNightWingX): In between the time I spend beating the shit out of people and being awesome at guitar, I like to pretend I'm a writer. Enjoy (Also, this is 100% Gabby's idea - the story anyway. Also I love her like lots kthxbai).

(Ignore him)

Disclaimer: We don't own any DC characters included.

PARALLAX

Chapter 1: In the Beginning

Neo-Gotham- 2054

The cold, dark clouds of Neo-Gotham threatened rain, as a lonely dark figure stood upon a building high above his beloved city. His cowl that once felt safe, warm, and reassuring felt nothing of the sort as pain surged inside him like a river, the skies pouring down upon his head relentlessly. His skin-tight suit: made from a material ounce for ounce tougher than titanium, infused with the most sensitive and powerful technology known in existence the world could possibly offer, and coated with a form of Kevlar harder than diamonds that shielded him from bullets and all forms of explosive blasts – could protect him from a blow from Superman, and once had even defended him from the immeasurable heat of the earth's core.

But it did nothing for him now, and the raw sorrow cut his very soul as he gazed down at the blood red insignia of a bat on his chest, his piercing blue eyes reflecting the immense pain he felt in his heart.

Quietly, the Dark Knight spread his arms apart and kicked off lightly from the ledge of the high-rise building, his glider-like wings ejecting from his shoulders and aligning themselves to his arms; the thrusters at the soles of his feet activating and propelling him into the dark, night sky.

Meanwhile, in the confines of the Bat-cave, an elderly Bruce Wayne gazed into the pods that held the uniforms of his former partners. Gently he reached out a gnarled hand, touching the glass that encased the former Robin's costume.

"Tim," the mutter of Bruce's cold, steely voice resonated in the Bat-cave. His sharp, intelligent eyes sparkled in the reflection in the glass casing. As Bruce moved to Batgirl's, he sighed out heavily, touching the glass casing only momentarily before moving on to focus his attention on the suit of Nightwing.

"Dick, the prodigal son in our little family," whispered Bruce in a rare tone of gentleness, "You always were the one person who I could count on..." continued Bruce as he gazed at the black domino mask, looking into it before lingering his eyes down at the red symbol on the chest of the black suit.

"Perhaps it was time the prodigal came home..." was all Bruce said, a strange energy filling his tired eyes.

'Terry, get back to the cave as soon as possible, I have a task for you,' called the stoic voice of Terry McGuiness' mentor through his com-link. Terry, being mid-flight, was far more concentrated on evading buildings than listening to Bruce. He banked a hard left as to avoid colliding into a skyscraper's flagpole, the storm not helping visibility, the rain blanketing him and obscuring the long-range vision sensors on his suit.

"Sorry old man, a little busy right now," replied Terry harshly, trying hard to hide the fact that he was emotionally shaken at the moment. Bruce knew as well as he did the significance of today.

'Terry...'

Storm or not, Terry needed this time alone to clear his head. He strained his arms backwards, pulling upwards, and headed straight towards the clouds above. Flying was his escape, it helped with the pain, and it was what soothed his raging heart.

"Nothing could be so important right now! Not after everything that's happened! Give me a break!"

Bruce saw through the façade easily and muttered darkly, 'Superman made the ultimate sacrifice back then, if you wish to honor him as his best friend, you'll want to hear what I have to say... I expect you at the cave within the hour.'

Gotham City- 2012

Rachel Roth awoke to a beautiful spring morning in Gotham City's Wayne Manor. Her purple hair was let down in a messy way and her hand was aimlessly stroking her fiancé's cheek where he laid under the covers slightly, wrapped around her hip. "Richard, wake up..." came her tender whisper, urging him to leave his slumber.

Richard's reply was a small, discontent growl, followed by a yawn before he smiled lazily up at her, murmuring, "Good morning, dear… time to get up already?"

Raven smiled softly in slight amusement back and proceeded to stroke back his straight, jet-black hair so she could gaze into his cerulean blue eyes.

"Yes, it is."

They had both retired from their active duties as Titans after the banishment of Trigon to the Phantom Zone all those years ago by the team. Raven and Richard had decided to give up their roles to finally live a life simply committed to each other, a life of peace.

"Mm… wanna get a cup of tea in a bit?" whispered Richard, crawling up to lay on his side in front of her, grinning cockily. "I know you can't resist the herbal."

Raven rolled her eyes, her smile still not leaving her face. "Why, how well you know me. Let's go then, Mr. Grayson," Raven stated in a coy reply. She began to sit up, but before she fully could, Richard rested a hand on her waist and stroked his hand up and down her side slowly, keeping her planted on the bed as she watched him now curiously.

"Actually… I think I'm a bit hungry," he murmured mischievously with a wide grin. "I think I'll have my breakfast in bed," he trailed off suggestively when he saw her blush, pulling the covers back over them once more.

After his 'breakfast' and Raven's real one, Dick sat in Bruce's study, the sunlight flowing in past the shades as the former Boy Wonder browsed through the morning papers. He casually turned the pages over until he had arrived at the section he had been searching for that supplied information on all the crimes that had occurred in the past 24 hours. Although regarding himself as a retired hero, he did enjoy being kept up-to-date on criminal activities; an old habit that Raven usually pestered him about.

He sighed contently, as the section seemed void of any significant violent crimes at first glance. His mind began to wander, a fond smile on his face at the thoughts.

In his childhood as Robin, he was made to read the crime section to Bruce each morning after breakfast – Bruce's method of teaching him how to read. This was something Dick hadn't realized until recently, but Bruce had taught him a great deal of things through very subtle methods. The former Boy Wonder was lost in thought completely now as his mind wandered onto how Bruce trained him in the art of melee combat. In the Bat Family, Dick Grayson was the undisputed master of close range fighting.

He set the newspaper down on his thigh for a moment and reclined in his armchair, thinking of how he and his mentor differed in their approach to crime fighting. Bruce always seemed to have a card up his sleeve, no matter how impossible the situation, no matter how dire everything seemed. His mentor never faltered, never once showed weakness – the Batman always had a plan B, and always prevailed. Dick Grayson was no Batman; he knew this, especially after having taken up the cowl himself for a period of time. He was not willing to make great personal sacrifices for the sake of the mission, and this unwillingness to completely submit himself to a life of crime fighting caused him to put his past as a vigilante behind him and focus on what he truly wanted.

He turned his head to look out of the window at his fiancé, watching as she smiled slightly to herself happily while tending to her cherry blossoms in the garden. Dick sighed as he observed his future wife, his heart skipping a beat. Seeing her happy and alive made him feel like nothing else could. His spirits always soared around her; to him she was the sun and the moon, the earth and the air. She had been since they were so young all those year ago. She was his very life, and he was hers. This was what he wanted.

Dick picked up the papers again to turn the page over to the last part of the crime section he'd saved. Immediately, the young man's eyes became harsh and cold as he analyzed a murder story. Another young man around his age had been brutally killed – bringing up the total to now three bodies in what the police believed to be a series of murders executed by a demon-obsessed cult member.

'They found the same demonic symbols on him…' Dick thought to himself. "That's definitely odd…" he than muttered aloud, placing the paper back on the table and making his way out of the room.

Were it not for the light emanating off the screen of the Bat-Computer, Dick would've been shrouded in darkness. His eyes focused on the screen, having executed a very refined search of murders of people with features similar to his own.

He was not surprised to find that the search only returned three results. He bit his lower lip lightly as he scanned the information displayed on screen, listening suddenly when a bat screeched softly in the darkness. He responded with a low whistle and relaxed slightly in the chair, darkness consuming his figure; but it was a familiar, comfortable feeling. The evidence on the screen intrigued him, as all three men had a lot in common.

They all had the same physical profile, they were either trained in various methods of fighting, had served in the Bludhaven Police Force, were all engaged, the last of the three to be killed being an Olympic level gymnasts. He'd even owned a share in the circus Dick had worked in as a child. But what was the most surprising about the string of murders and odd to Dick was the fact that they all shared the same name.

"Richard," came his fiancé's whisper. He had almost not noticed her entering the cave, were it not for the bat's earlier screech.

"Yes Rae?" whispered Dick gently as he swung his chair around to smile at her.

Raven's face remained solemn and somewhat worried as she looked at him directly, striding to him urgently. "Bruce called, he told me to –"

"To tell me that someone's trying to kill me?" he interjected.

"How did you know?" Raven muttered darkly as she folded her arms over her ample chest, her shoulders weighing down with worry.

"The world's greatest detective is my father; it's hard not to pick these things up," Dick whispered gently once more. Raven smiled weakly at his reply and walked closer to him before she ran her hand through his hair, stroking it tenderly as the computer screen dimmed and darkness consumed the lovers.

"I thought this would all stop once we quit being heroes, Dick..."

"I thought so too, Rae..."

Raven awoke with a start, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead as she sat up, her pale skin shinning in the moonlight. Her heart was racing at a mile a minute when Dick slipped out of his deep sleep, the moonlight also falling upon on him as he sat up and tended to her. The disturbed state of Raven always meant something was seriously wrong. She had not been like this since the last time her father had touched her mind.

"Rae?" whispered Dick tentatively, as he touched her shoulder softly. She looked at him, but it almost seemed as if she was staring right through him, her eyes glazed over in worry before she managed to whisper back quietly.

"He's here, Richard. Trigon."

"But we imprisoned him all those years ago, Rae… How could he have possibly…?" muttered Dick as he nimbly slipped out of the bed, grabbing a wing-ding he kept in the drawer. The wing-ding blended perfectly in to the darkness as he made his way to the bedroom door. Trigon or not, something – or someone – was bothering Raven, and he was prepared to find out.

Raven too slipped out of bed, her aura flowing around her hands, eyes flashing a deep purple as she followed close behind.

Richard stalked stealthily down the hallway outside their room with Raven in tow, the duo walking silently with their backs to each other. Both were ready to react at a moment's notice.

"Let's move to the lawn?" whispered Richard questioningly to Raven. Her reply was a silent nod, both knowing full well that they needed to make the least amount of noise.

Tim Drake smirked smugly as he effectively destroyed Conner Kent in another match of Tekken 6. It was the twelfth straight game he had won, yet Conner refused to give up.

"You're cheating! You used Christie again, you know she's a cheap character," whisper-hissed Conner darkly to Tim, to which Tim replied with only a shrug as he took a glance sideways out the window. The sky outside was clear, allowing Tim to catch the silhouette of a tall hooded figure from the corner of his eye. Snapping his head quickly, he trained his eyes on the moving shape, following it as it slowly disappeared into the ground. If Tim were a normal teenager, he would've thought he was only imagining things. But Tim, the legal ward of Bruce Wayne, and another former Boy Wonder, knew better than that. Conner noticed the odd silence from his best friend and quickly averted his eyes to follow Tim's gaze.

Conner stared hard, his eyes intently focused in the direction that Tim was looking at as he slowly peeled away the layers of wood with his X-Ray vision. Unlike his mentor Superman, Conner had to focus hard to see through solid objects. But as he gazed into the grounds of Wayne Manor, he managed to catch the dark silhouette before it slipped out of view.

"Tim? You may want to get your gear on…" but Tim was already placing his mask over his face. He wore an enthusiastic grin, mirrored by Conner, as the pair proceeded to change into their alter egos.

"Richard John Grayson," came a whisper that flowed like a small stream, the voice masculine yet eerie. The former Aerial Avenger held a wing-ding at eye level, as Raven raised a hand, the purple aura emanating from it illuminating the dark cave just enough.

From the corner of his eyes, Dick found the source of the whisper: a shadowy figure standing not twenty paces from him.

"Or should I call you brother-in-law?" hissed the nameless voice, the sound carrying in the cave. Dick let out a quiet breath, relaxing as he gracefully pivoted, his arm resembling the lash of a whip as it released his projectile to fly directly at the intruder. But Dick's wing-ding was beaten by his fiancé's energy blast as Raven stood confidently beside him, her hands outstretched and glowing with malevolent purple energy she'd just released.

The figure only laughed, his shoulders visibly moving up and down as he phased through Raven's blast and Richard's wing-ding. The two froze as the figure approached them.

Raven stood stunned, the darkness surrounding the figure melting away as its' eyes – all four of them – glowed a bright red light. Dick stood motionless, waiting for the being to speak again. He had the faintest feeling he had encountered this entity before.

"It wasn't father I felt; it was you Jared, wasn't it? You were prodding at my mind!" growled an enraged Raven, raising her hands again as her heart pounded in her chest. She sent a flurry of blasts at Jared, to which he simply walked through, allowing the aura blasts to pass straight through him like before. At the same time he merely flicked his wrist in Dick's direction before he could also attempt something, flinging him against a wall further away as he focused solely on Raven.

"Sister, come now, that isn't a way to greet your brother after all these years!" Jared called out as he threw his hood back, revealing a sickening, and sadistic smile. His skin glowed slightly, as a red aura surrounded him; enveloping him completely as he reached out to his sister's mind, and the rage flowed freely from his heart into her subconscious.

Raven collapsed to her knees on the ground and tried to stay in control before her body fully crumpled down and hit the floor. She writhed in pain and anger as her half brother tormented her, filling her mind with disturbing images – with hateful thoughts. Jared continued to grin his terrible smile as his aura surged, and Raven's eye's flashed between red and purple.

"Yes sister, dear… the rest of our brothers are waiting for us – waiting for you to return to us. Tracking you and your dear fiancé down has been fun, but you know how impatient father is…"

Dick snapped to his senses at last and pushed himself up, charging at the demon. As soon as he was within striking distance, he brought his lead leg up, and snapped out a front kick, the ball of his foot connecting squarely with his enemy's jaw, effectively releasing his fiancé from her torture.

Richard sank into his fighting stance, bringing his hands up, placing one in front of his chin, and the other at his cheek. "Shall we?" asked Dick, attempting to divert Jared's attention from Raven, buying her recovery time.

"Foolish mortal," growled his enemy as his hands glowed a deep red, the aura covering him completely again, "Though it's you we've been after too… this'll knock out two birds with one stone," the demon chuckled. Dick launched a quick right jab at his opponent's face, causing his enemy to shield his face. Just as Dick suspected: another super villain with amazing supernatural abilities, yet not so up-to-par fighting skills. Dick planned to use this to his advantage as he launched another high jab to the demon's face, causing Jared to hiss and stumble back. But the jab was a mere distraction, for as Jared, the very incarnation of Wrath, stepped back, the former Aerial Avenger quickly stepped forward, lifting his leg and without chambering his kick, directed a swift, devastating front kick to his opponent's groin.

The demon sank to the ground in pain, just as a flash of red and black metal shot through the darkness, and became lodged into Jared's right arm. He screamed in a truly inhuman voice, his agony unmistakable, cutting through the air the same way the small projectile did. All of a sudden, Jared burst into flames, and Dick fell back, temporarily blinded by the flames produced and confused as to what had just happened.

A crimson Bat-insignia blazed in the darkness, as the Future Dark Knight stepped towards the two birds, Dick running to Raven's side as she finally came back to consciousness, the footsteps growing nearer.

"Richard John 'Dick' Grayson and Rachel Arella 'Raven' Roth?" muttered the unsure voice of the intruder. He was answered with a cold silence from Richard who looked up at him with a slight glare.

Dick slowly peeled his eyes open enough and focused to gaze at the red bat-emblem, the suit completely unfamiliar to him, as his glare turned from harsh to confused at the mysterious stranger who had just saved him and his fiancés life.

"Bruce sent me to bring you back home, Dick… he needs your help."

End Chapter

Alright, that's the end of the first chapter. I know lots of stuff is going on, but all will be answered next chapter, and if you have any questions, complaints, compliments or queries, please put them in your review. Feedback is great.

DarkGirlRavenGrayson & TheNightWingX