Disclaimer- I will never own Young Justice.

The more reviews, the longer the chapter!

Note- I will be referring Dick as Reaper because . . . You'll see.

The inspiration for this chapter: "Beauty Is Within Us" by Scott Matthew (his song mentions a lot about regret. XD

Chapter 5

When Dick let his true name slip from his mouth, he could feel the side of him that was Robin and Dick Grayson slip into a dark corner within his mind. With them gone . . . He no longer felt like a person . . . Just a killing machine whose only desire was to change the future. But maybe he needed to be that person again . . . That way he could complete his mission without the bonds of family and friends to hold him back.

. . . Yes, he needed to let go. Letting go of the people he had grown to care about was the only way he would be able to do his duty. He had to let them go because the truth was that he wasn't supposed to be a part of their world. Dick Grayson had never witnessed his parents' deaths, never taken in by Bruce and never had become a superhero. The first time around, Dick Grayson had died a year before his parents' performance and their grief had caused them to die.

Dick Grayson wasn't supposed to know them.

He wasn't supposed to know them.

But Dick, no, Reaper had taken Dick Grayson's place and had lived a life that wasn't supposed to happen. Reaper, not Dick, had easily lied to Mary and John Grayson and had led them to believe that Dick had recovered from his illness. That was the lie that Mary and John happily believed till their tragic deaths, leaving him feeling slightly guilty for never telling them the truth. But Reaper wouldn't allow himself to feel anything for that was the downfall of every human being . . .

Not that he was one.

Dick, no, Reaper, sighed softly as he forced himself to shut all of his thoughts out and to work on tracking Anarky and the others down. He couldn't allow himself to pretend that he was Dick any longer. He had to go back to being Reaper, the heartless killer and second hand man of Lex Luthor. He had to force himself to become Reaper again, to leave Robin and Dick caged in the back of his mind. He had to be Reaper until his mission was complete. Only then could he revert back to Robin . . .

But the chance of that almost nonexistent.

Because when this is all over . . . he won't have a choice about his fate. It had already been decided for him, leaving no room for arguments or complaints. He, a combination of Dick, Robin and Reaper, would have to sacrifice so much for the good of the world . . . To save the world from the worst future possible . . .

A future where evil rules.

_Bruce Wayne's POV_

Bruce had expected that when he got another call from Dick's school, it would be to tell him that Dick had once again pulled a devious prank. He had expected to hearing Dick's cries of protest over the phone and to restraint himself from chuckling. He had expected to roll his eyes and to reply calmly and act as if Dick would receive harsh punishment once he was home. He had expected to tell Alfred that he had lost the bet and that Dick had pulled a prank just a week sooner than Alfred had expected. Bruce had expected all of these things because they were natural occurrences (with minor exceptions such as Alfred winning the bet).

But for once, the great detective was wrong.

The school had called to report Dick's absence from class, insinuating that Dick had skipped the rest of the school day. Quick to cover Dick's tracks, Bruce had smoothly replied that Alfred had picked Dick up early for a dentist appointment and that he had forgotten to call. Of course, the principal had started in on him for being irresponsible and whatnot but Bruce had hung up halfway through. He didn't want to waste more time than he already had. He had already lost an hour, an hour that could very well in end being why he would fail in finding Dick.

Bruce shook his head at his inner thoughts. He had no time to start worrying. He had to quickly find Dick to see what in the world would cause Dick to skip school. But when Bruce moved to leave his office, his phone rang once again.

"I don't have time for this," he grumbled to himself as he answered the phone.

"Bruce."

"Clark," Bruce muttered, wondering if Clark had some death wish.

It had only been a few days since Bruce had tried to get Clark to see that Superboy needed him, that Superboy needed a good role model. Superboy needed someone that was related (if you can call it that) to him that wasn't part of the Injustice League. If Superboy didn't gain Clark as a father figure, Bruce feared, as did Dick, that Luthor would then be able to use Superboy. Clark refused to see this though; his only concern was how this affected him, not Superboy.

Clark was acting so unlike him, so selfish that Bruce was starting to worry that Superboy's sudden appearance had sent in into a permanent state of shock. But Bruce kept his thoughts to himself, waiting, hoping, that his friend (not that he would ever call Clark that) would do the right thing by his own choosing.

"Did you know that Dick's not in school?"

Bruce wanted to strangle Clark over the phone. How did he know? Surely Clark hadn't uncovered yet another power . . .

"Yes."

Not that it was any of his business. If anything, he should be worrying about Superboy, his clone!

"Oh . . . Then I guess you know what he's doing in my city."

His city? Why would Dick be there? Without even telling him? Was something going on that Dick wasn't telling him about? . . . Was that why Dick had looked different this morning?

"Clark, where is he right now?" Bruce asked sternly, swiftly shifting in Batman mode.

"Well . . . Dick isn't in my city exactly . . ."

"Then where is he?" Bruce bit out, tired of this game.

". . . But if you want to know where Robin is, he's heading towards some warehouses."

Okay, that just blew Bruce's theory of drugs or something. If he was in Robin mode . . . That meant he was doing something that Dick couldn't be seen doing in broad daylight. But what exactly was he doing? And why was he alone?

"I'm on my way."

A/N- Oh, things are heating up! XD Please review! This was published on 9-27-12 with the length of 1,181 words.