The Titans assisted Robin in escorting the performing elephant back to the circus. Starfire was sitting on the elephants back, Beastboy had taken the shape of a baby elephant and walked in front of Sitka, allowing him to hold his tail and Raven and Cyborg had moved on ahead in the car to let the ringmaster now that Sitka had been calmed and was on his way back. Robin walked right beside the massive animal's head, deep in thought. Starfire watched him curiously; he had known the animal's name and the elephant, Sitka, had seemed very fond of Robin. "Why is he so sad?" She couldn't help wondering.

With his head down, Robin almost walked into the sign that had the circus' name printed in bold red, gold and white letters.

"Thank God!" Robin suddenly heard a man's voice and turned to see Jack Haley, the circus owner rushing towards them in a brightly colored tuxedo and top hat with Cyborg and Raven calmly walking behind him. Once he got to them, he quickly looked over the elephant to make sure all was well. Satisfied with what he saw, he turned to the teen heroes.

"Thank you so very much," Mr. Haley said "Jack Haley, at your service!"

"You welcome Mr. Haley. Cyborg stated. "But the credit really goes to Robin. He went and helped to get Sitka under control and helped us get another villain to the authorities."

Robin looked a bit nervous when the Ringmaster glanced at him. The ringmaster's eyes flickered with recognition, but he quickly saw the fear on Robin's face.

"Uh, well thank you my young friends. I would like you all to attend the circus for as long as we are here!" The ringmaster stated.

"Something wrong Dude-Sir?" Beastboy corrected after Raven hit him across the head.

"No dear boy just occupied. Now, we have much to do if we're to be ready tomorrow, so we can talk in the morning."

"Yeah, we need to make sure that everyone is okay now that the elephant is back where he belongs." Robin said quickly and then walked away.

"What was that all about?" Beastboy asked. The Titans all wondered the same thing, but thought nothing more of it.

The titans had quickly set about repairing the damage done to the city. Robin had suggested that everyone go back to the tower while he went about in aiding in the new safety measures for the circus.

Once they left, Robin walked towards the cages for the animals and allowed his shoulders to drop with the heavy weight that had long been on his mind. It had been eight years since the accident. He and his parents had been among one of the most talented people in the world. But that changed the day Zucco showed up.

He would always remember,

The cheers of the crowd as his mother and father went in for the final swing,

The subtle squeak as the riggings in the trapeze gave,

The gasp of the crowd as the two acrobats fell towards the earth,

And the following silence that was almost as dead as the two figures in the center of the ring.

Once more, Robin was so caught up that he nearly had a heart attack when he heard a loud hiss to his right. He was greeted by a large white boa with golden spots.

After a moment of hesitation Robin was able to get a good look at the snake.

"Recognize Peaches?"

Robin jumped when he turned and saw Mr. Haly smiling behind him. Robin's eyes immediately softened when he saw the ringmaster.

"She's definitely gotten bigger," Robin said as the circus owner opened the cage so that Robin could get a better look at the serpent; "but was she always this smart?" He joked as the boa rose upward to look him in the face.

"No, I guess not." Mr. Haly laughed. Robin smiled, but did not laugh back.

"Dick," Robin looked panicked at his name, but when he remembered who he was talking to, he calmed down and slowly peeled of his Domino mask, revealing his sapphire blue eyes.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Robin said as Peaches wound herself around his torso and arms and nestled her head against his neck.

Haly nodded, "We haven't had a trapeze act since you left. Hardly seems like a circus now… He said sadly."

"I think about you guys a lot, I always look on the TV to see where you are." Robin said more to himself than to the circus owner. "I fight almost every day with what my parents taught me, but I never really feel happy until I hear about you guys."

The Ringmaster laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Dick calmly placed Peaches' upper body in the cage and she slowly slithered into her enclosure.

The young acrobat and the circus owner walked around the compound until Mr. Haly asked the question that Dick had long been dreading.

"Dick, will you be our acrobat again?"

Dick stiffened; he had a feeling that someone would ask him that.

"Dick, we haven't had an acrobat in years. Lots of people have been asking for it." The owner looked at him with eyes that seemed to be begging.

Robin kept his head down as he thought. On one hand, if Richard Grayson showed up at the circus all of a sudden, it may bring unwanted attention (interpret that anyway you want)and jeopardize more people than desired. But on the other hand, he had always flipped and somersaulted in the midst o a fight, but it had been quite awhile since he last had a date with a trapeze.

But that moment became something that Robin normally hated, a moment of defeat.

"I'll see when I can get away." The hero sighed. The older man laid one last hand on his shoulder and disappeared into the colors of the circus tent.

As Robin replaced the mask on his face, he walked down the street with a heavy heart. He could not figure out which emotion he felt the most.

The happiness at returning to his first home, or the nagging anticipation that something would be going wrong very soon.

Okay, so you have all been so nice even though I was nothing shy of lazy.

In my defense however, this is not my story, as such, it was taking a bit longer than expected to find the path I wanted the story to take.

I will work harder to give the story more potential though

I Promise

Sky the White Dragon