Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or anything mentioned in this story

Flashback – One week after Trigon's defeat

Titan's Tower

"So when can I expect you back in Gotham?" Robin's mentor asked speaking to Robin through the main screen on the tower.

"I am not going back, I've told you that, Raven is still looking at options and the city needs us, once we fix what happened, my team will be back," Robin said firmly, at this point he still held on to the believe that Raven could bring back their lost teammates and everything would just return to normal. Robin was in denial.

"I hate to say this, but someone has to, they are gone Robin, they are not coming back, there is nothing left for you in Jump City, just ghosts, you need to come here, you need to bring Raven too, you guys need help and support, the League can hel-"

"Help how? Like they helped us fight Trigon? You guys have all that technology and mystics, the mightiest and most powerful heroes and no one could help?" Robin angrily cutoff Batman, who was taken aback by the outburst.

"Listen to me, do not blame me, do not blame the League, we had no idea what happened or what was going on, maybe if you had not been so headstrong and confident in your leadership you would have opened a communication with us or even tell us what was going on, do not blame us. Your friends are gone, they are not coming back, I am sorry, now please, come home with Raven, we can help you," Batman coldly explained.

"No, I am sorry Batman, I can't go back to be retired, there is still so much work that must be done," Robin replied quietly, with that he cut off the communication.

Robin slumped on the couch; he took off his mask, and remembered Starfire mentioning meeting him as 'Nightwing' when she found herself in the future while battling a time traveling thief. He had liked the idea back then, maybe it was time to change.

RAVEN'S APARTMENT – Present Day

Raven sat in a deep trance; she had searched her library thoroughly, borrowed some very ancient texts from sources, and continued her search into the afterlife. Death was a tricky business, despite all the magic and all the research and knowledge she has gained, all the thousands of years of texts and there were very few answers. Black magic did have some of its own answers, but this was mostly re-animating corpses or tricking people into thinking they were contacting beyond. There was an after-life, many people had come back from the dead one way or another confirm this, particularly super-heroes and villains, but it was the universe's great secret.

"Why can't I bring them back? Why won't they come back?" Raven thought as she grunted beginning to sweat from the stress of maintaining focus and trying to form a bridge to the beyond. "When I restored the world why did they not come back either?" she continued thinking these questions which had no answers, "Perhaps this is what's preventing me from reaching to them. I need to have a completely clear mind, completely focused," she thought as she ended her useless trance.

She rested for a few minutes then got up for some tea, she had a new plan of action, she would cleanse her mind and soul of these questions first, once completely clean she would try to create the bridge. The first step was being able to establish the temporary bridge, which would cause a lot of strain, but the important task was tracking her friends' souls and knowing where to put her bridge. This also would not bring them back, but it would establish a communication which could be very beneficial in a future attempt to bring them back.

TITANS TOWER

"Alright, the meeting has officially begun, first on the agenda, I would like to officially welcome Robin into his first meeting," Bumblebee said, the other Titans gave a polite clap to their newest member. "Now, super-crime has reached an all-time low, in nearby cities also super-crime is down, we want to expand across the entire West Coast, but to do so we need a vehicle to travel fast enough. We all aren't Kid Flash," she continued, Kid Flash gave a little shrug. "How has your contact with the League gone in that department Speedy?" she asked the often over-confident team hot-head.

"I have talked with Green Arrow, and he says the League is considering giving us a new plane that can allow us such mobility. Superman has been very impressed by our crackdown on super-crime and acknowledges we are at a severe disadvantage without the capability to travel up and down the coast. The League also acknowledges our activities help them focus on more global problems and allowing us such mobility can be a huge benefit for the League. However Batman and the Flash have both argued against giving us such technology or expanding our operations, saying we are too young and not yet equipped for such responsibilities without an adult. So basically at the moment there is no agreement, although I think eventually the League will give in," Speedy concluded.

"Thanks Speedy, Jinx, have you any information from your sources?"

"My sources among super-criminals have told me some interesting things actually. Although super-crime is at an all-time low, we have seen some crimes outside of our range, mostly bank robberies and such by old Titan foes and some new ones. There is apparently a rumor that several major players, I don't have any names unfortunately, are working with super-villains to collect money and organize an attempt to take Jump City. And no, it isn't for revenge against the Titans, Jump City has a very lucrative criminal underground that has been expanding due to the cities strategic location on the coast and on the main drug supply line. The rumor is these super-villain alliances want to prepare, and seize the profitable criminal underworld and to do that they have to neutralize us. In fact, we might not know it but some people might be active in the city but establishing themselves with the criminals, under our eyes," Jinx finished her own report, she didn't treat it like a joke, she did once and Bumblebee fixed her feelings on team meetings very quickly.

"Very interesting, so the rumors continue, guess we got Robin at the right time. Kid Flash how is your Titans PR campaigning going?" Bee asked.

"Well, you know me, I have been saving cats and dogs, doing the little heroic things; I think the amount of letters from our young fans is encouraging enough, but the older people still don't like us obviously. Publically I am the best off because I have my own fan base in Central City so those tourists flock to see Titans Tower and me obviously, but we need to just keep on doing our jobs. Personally the less we try to win people over the better it will be, that's what I think anyways," Kid Flash concluded.

"Yeah, I don't know if we can ever win the entire city, at least the kids like us, keep up the good work, and please try to keep references to your own celebrity and Central City to a minimum next time," Bee added, Kid Flash smiled and winked at Jinx. "Anyways, Robin is our new under-ground expert, obviously we don't expect him to have any report, so Robin, do you have any questions about your position?"

"Yes actually, where are the files on your informers among the non-powered criminals? There are a lot on super-villain teams, but I can't find any other," Robin asked

"Yeah, well, we don't really have that man. We did but the old Robin took it with him when he left the Tower and we haven't tried re-establishing it yet," Speedy answered.

"Really? How many patrols for drug crimes/muggings etc. and how many murder cases do the Titans have on their case load?" Robin continued.

The Titans all looked a bit embarrassed as they shook their heads. Bumblebee had a sorry look as she said no. Robin smacked himself in the head; it would be a long night as he continued his questions.

JUMP CITY

"The night is still young," Nightwing thought as he watched a street below, the angry hero had already prevented two muggings and a murder, he still wasn't done. He took out a tape recorder, "On patrol on the East Side, away from the coast, away from the tourists and most police forces, crime is very high here, a lot of seedy bars and clubs. Stopped mugging of a male student who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, now observing two suspects walking down the street, the female and male appear intoxicated, prime possible victims," Robin finished whispering. He re-positioned himself and watched the couple walking down the street.

As he observed he saw a black SUV pull up next to the two, before he could react, the car quickly stopped, and the apparently drunk man pushed his female companion in the vehicle, the driver tossed something at the "drunk" man and the car drove off. By the time the SUV drove off Nightwing had hit the ground and was running, his bike was too far away to grab and he could not get a tracer on the vehicle or even a plate number, he did not have a proper angle. The man who had betrayed his companion saw Nightwing coming and before he could react Nightwing was on him.

"I didn't do anything man!" he yelled as Nightwing grabbed him and pushed him into an alley.

"Where did they take her!" Nightwing screamed.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about man, just trying to get home," he whimpered, Nightwing held him up with one arm and punched him hard in the gut.

"Wrong answer creep, I saw you, tell me or I start breaking things!" Nightwing menacingly said.

"I don-," before he could finish that sentence Nightwing punched him hard in the face, breaking his nose, the man began bleeding profusely.

"What did I say?" Nightwing retorted as he now got a hold of his hand and broke his pinky and ring finger, slowly.

"OK! OK! Stop, God, it isn't that bad, I just go out, get some chick, hand her off to some guys and they have some fun and drop her off in the morning. It's not a fricking big deal dude, they are tramps, they are just doing what they do best and I get paid," the guy panted as Nightwing let him go, the man held on to his fingers hurt.

"Drugging and abusing women is disgusting, where did they take her!" he continued. The man had a horrified look and after five minutes of more torture gave the address, an abandoned warehouse and three names.

JUMP CITY PIER

"The three men took her to a warehouse on the pier, usually no activity here at night and security is lax at best, perfect place I guess, as long as nothing is stolen no one will check any of the security tapes either," Robin thought as he scouted the location. He had jumped on his bike and had rushed over, but he knew not to just let his emotions take over, he had to plan his assault, but time was of the essence. He found the SUV to the side, and as their partner confessed, there was one guy on the lookout at the front of the building.

Nightwing slowly crept closer; he was trained by the best and knew exactly how to sneak up to a target. The man guarding didn't seem too interested at his job, he no doubt wanted his own turn as he constantly checked his watch. Nightwing soon got to within striking distance, and waited, he timed how long he looked at his watch and at what times, trying to find a pattern. Once he got that he waited, when the ideal moment occurred Nightwing struck, punching the man, who let out a grunt, before quickly covering his mouth and putting him in a sleeper hold. He had to move fast. Time was of the essence for the girl and for him, he had to exploit his element of surprise before the man he had interrogated earlier manages to crawl to a phone and warn them. Nightwing had destroyed his cell phone and had broken one of his legs, but you never know. Nightwing quietly entered the building and cautiously began moving down a hallway.

Suddenly he halted, he could hear the grunting and screaming from where he stood, he could hear her begging him to stop and his awful replies, incensed Nightwing forgot the rules he was taught and rushed to help. The second thug stood outside an office door, where the noises were coming from, Nightwing delivered a quick, but devastating kick, then began pounding the man unconscious, not letting up, his boot and hands becoming bloodied. Once that man was subdued Nightwing stormed the room and the sight sickened him.

"Step away from the girl scum," the dark hero growled, the man looked up stunned and pushed the girl away.

"I-I did what you said man, see, it's all good, we weren't doin anything wrong man," he tried to explain, the hurt girl had curled up crying against a nearby wall in the warehouse office.

"You worthless scum," Nightwing managed to let out, the anger boiling inside him almost preventing him from talking, he ran up to the man and started beating him senselessly, he did not hold back in his punches and kicks, the man staggered back, begging him to stop. "Did you stop when she asked? Huh?" Nightwing retorted.

"When will you scumbags stop! Is this what I have to do, beat you all senseless!" Nightwing yelled as he brought the man up, finally Nightwing setup and delivered a final, powerful upper kick, aiming for his chest. However the beaten man slumped down from the barrage he had sustained earlier, Nightwing saw what was happening but could not stop the motion. His foot connected right on his throat and it seemed like slow-motion but Nightwing distinctly heard the sickening snap as he broke the man's neck. He looked in wide-eyed horror as he saw the dead man slump down. After starring in disbelief for moments that felt like hours, he turned and stammered, "I-I lef- left a location, the police sh- should be here soon ma'am," to the terrified and traumatized victim, stunned himself Nightwing fled the warehouse.

He took his motorcycle and rode, "There are some lines we never cross, that's what separates us from them," he remembered his mentor's saying. It kept ringing in his head, he was stunned, he had crossed the line, he had done the unthinkable, no one would condone his actions, "Batman will never forgive me, God, the Titans, what would they think if they'd seen that, I guess it's good they didn't live to see me fail like this. My God, the new Titans will hunt me down, and I deserve it," Nightwing though as he rode. He did not want to be alone, he was so distraught, so many thoughts, such a devastating moment. He had only one person he could turn to now, he knew he couldn't be alone, with that thought he made the turn and headed to an apartment in the city…