A/N: Better late than never my friends. I've reached a few roadblocks in this story, and it's taken me some time to work them out. However, I am sure you'll all enjoy the next few chapters as they take form.

I don't know about everyone else out there, but I cannot wait until Thanksgiving. I am in dire need of some days off. Plus, after Thanksgiving I get to decorate for Christmas...

Anyhow, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! You readers out there are awesome, and receiving reviews makes me so happy!

Disclaimer: They're not mine. This story line however...

Okay everyone, enjoy!


If At First You Don't Succeed

By: Sarah Shima

Chapter 12: Lies, Betrayal, and Deception


He opened his eyes wearily, his body and mind slowed by drugs. He blinked to clear his vision, and found himself staring at a stark white ceiling. He groaned, slowly dragging himself into an uncomfortable sitting position. Before he could fully grasp his situation, he heard the door thrown open and something heavy land on his legs.

"Unca Dick!" a cheery voice cried. Before his mind could connect the voice with a face, two small arms had been thrust around his neck, and sleek hair rubbed against his injured jaw.

"Woah! Lian, let the man breathe!" Roy Harper called, watching as his daughter, Lian, enveloped 'uncle' Dick in a tight, embrace. Lian was the daughter of the assassin Cheshire, with whom Roy had been 'involved.' After Roy took her from Cheshire and brought her to the U.S. she spent most of her time at Titan's Tower. As such, the Titans – especially Dick and Donna were her family.

Lian obediently released Dick and shifted so that she was sitting on the edge of the mattress. The five-year-old, black-haired girl stared up at him, a wide smile on her face.

"Hey Lian," Dick said. "And you too Roy," he added to the red-haired archer who was now standing beside him. Roy looked tired, as if he had not slept well recently.

Dick smiled slightly, remembering his and Roy's tumultuous friendship. When they were kids, Roy had rebelled against Dick as leader of the Teen Titans, and practically seethed with hatred for the aerialist. Roy eventually came to regard Dick as a friend. After Dick helped Roy overcome his addiction to heroin however, Roy became Dick's best friend. Roy would do anything for him, and he knew it. That was how it was with all of the 'original Titans.' However, at times like these, Dick was glad to have Roy as a friend. The other members of the 'family' had troubles of their own to take care of, and had drifted apart.

Wally West, known to the superhero community as The Flash was Dick's oldest and closest friend. He had left the Titans behind to take up his mentor's empty seat in the JLA after Barry died. A lot had happened to change Wally's relationship with everyone. A version of him from an alternate dimension caused trouble. When he tried to help Donna repair her memory she resented him for making her 'perfect' and ended up rebelling against the mold. However, the Titans managed to work out some of their problems, and Wally was still a part of 'the family.'

Garth, who was originally called Aqualad, but who had long since graduated into the role of Tempest considered the other OT's his true family. Unfortunately, his wife, Dolphin, forced him to leave the team after one of Dick's cases went array and nearly cost Garth his life. He had gone to Optitron with the other Titans to hear a business proposal the same day Donna was killed, and therefore was with the others for the short period surrounding her death. But, as the kindest and gentlest of the Titans, he had not taken her death very well.

The last OT was Donna Troy, and she was not with them anymore.

"How're you feeling, Robbie?" Roy asked, playfully cuffing his shoulder.

"Like I got pummeled by Mammoth?" Dick offered with a grin. "Where are we?" he questioned.

"S.T.A.R. labs," Roy answered. "I figured you would prefer it to the Manor," he added with a conspiratorial grin.

"Yes. Thank you," Dick answered, picturing himself stuck in the house with the Bat. He shuddered, and then fully sat up on the bed. Lian fluffed the pillows behind his back in a motherly fashion, so accustomed to living around constantly-injured superheroes. "Thanks, angel," Dick nodded to Lian.

Roy watched his friend closely, smiling in spite of himself. Dick looked much better than he had. The bandages on his face had been removed, his nose perfectly set. Some of the lesser injuries had healed, and his complexion was back to its normal healthy tone. But still, Dick looked so tired, and weak. With Dick having always been the strong, formidable leader, it felt strange to see him in such a way. However, he knew that in no time Dick would be up on his feet staring down criminals and tossing out his characteristic quips. He momentarily shivered remembering how frightened he was when he thought Dick might die, that he would lose another member of his family.

"Could you get me some water?" Dick asked Lian kindly. She nodded and raced out of the room on his command. Of course the request had double meaning; he needed some time to talk to Roy without a kid in the room.

"Have you discovered anything about the break-in?" Dick asked; all business.

"Nope. FBI wouldn't let us in. Jade's working on it though; she should be getting clearance within the next few days," Roy said, pulling up a chair.

"Anything else going on?" Dick questioned with a stern look.

Roy regarded Dick for a moment, knowing that in this situation, most people would lie to an injured superhero so he would not jeopardize his recovery. But this was Dick, and it was always a mistake to lie to him. So Roy chose to gloss over the details instead.

"San Francisco's been a mess. Criminals have been tearin' the place up ever since the break-out. The Outsiders stayed for a while to help out, but the Titans have it pretty much under control now."

Then he swiftly changed the subject before Dick had a chance to question anything he had said. "Now, enough about all that. How. Are. You?"

"I feel all right, considering. But as soon as I get Dr. Charles in here to cut off the drugs I know I'll be feeling a lot worse."

"Why not keep the meds, buddy? Does it go against your 'bat code' to not be in pain?" Roy grinned.

Dick shrugged off the comment with a glare.

"Uh-oh, the 'bat-glare'," Roy snickered.

"Bite me, Harper."

"Oh how I've missed you," Roy smiled. His face clouded over again as his mind ventured back to the day of the break-out.

"What is it?" Dick asked.

"Just… don't ever do that again," Roy breathed. "And I mean it too. You are not allowed to get killed."

"I'll keep that in mind," Dick responded, only half-joking. "But hey, you know none of us can control that," Dick added. "And when did Roy Harper get soft?"

"When Donna was killed," Roy said.

Dick's expression immediately darkened. "Roy… I…" he began, but he could not do it, he could not bring himself to say it.

Ever since Donna's death he had carried around the weight of his guilt over his loss alone. Troia died protecting Nightwing. But it was not just two superheroes; Donna Troy was killed to save Dick Grayson. The two had been friends for so long, and both were protective of each other. Once, when they were younger, when she was Wonder Girl and he Robin, Brother Blood had nearly ended his life. Donna had turned and proclaimed that if Robin was dead, she would kill Blood. And she meant it. Their relationship went beyond that of colleagues, they were best friends. He could trust Donna implicitly, and she had felt the same about him. He would have died for her, and he just wished she had not died for him.

Dick looked up and saw Roy watching him warily, waiting for the end of Dick's sentence. Dick did not say anything else. He knew Roy would understand if he told him, but he could not.

Roy regarded Dick with suspicion. Once again he came close to gaining the knowledge of what about Donna's death tormented Dick the most. But he would not tell him. Roy sighed in frustration, and was about to make a comment when Lian returned.

She handed Dick a glass of water, and pushed her way onto the bed again. Assuming the adults had received sufficient time to talk, she insisted on telling Dick in full detail exactly how horrible he looked when he was first brought to S.T.A.R. labs.

Roy stayed silent as Lian spoke, his mind still consumed with thoughts of his two best friends, Donna Troy and Dick Grayson. He was frustrated that Dick would not tell him what happened. 'Maybe Wally will have better luck,' he thought wryly.

"How's Tim doing?" Dick queried when Lian had stopped talking.

"I heard he got in a fight last night. Kory was pretty angry about it," Roy responded, making a mental note to call Kory soon. The last thing he needed was that hot-headed alien breathing down his throat.

"Is he all right?" Dick asked with concern.

"He's fine. You want me to get a com in here so you can talk to him?" Roy asked.

"Yeah, thanks."


Titan's Tower12:00 pm

Koriand'r walked down the halls of Titan's Tower, her heart light with joy. Roy Harper had just called, and assured her that Dick was awake and doing fine. Smiling, she headed towards Tim's room, excited to give him the good news.

She stopped outside his door to find it closed. She gently rapped on it, and when she did not receive a response, punched in the security code to open it. Stunned, she surveyed Tim's empty bedroom. It was in complete disrepair. Upturned furniture, books, and ripped papers were strewn about the floor. The Robin suits had been ripped from the closet. Kory stepped forward and heard the crunch of glass beneath her foot. She searched for the source and saw an upside down picture frame surrounded in shards. Carefully, she lifted up the frame. The picture inside had been ripped – most likely by the glass when it broke – and the picture was of Tim and Dick.

"What?" Kory began, scanning the area. She pulled out the active com, and spoke in a clipped tone. "Roy, I'm going to have to call you back."

She walked over to the closet and found that Tim's clothes were gone, along with the duffel bag he brought with him to the Tower. "Tim, what is going on? Where are you?"


STAR Labs

Roy turned to Dick, a confused expression on his face. "What is it Roy?" Dick asked. "Did something happen to Tim?"

"I don't know…" Roy said slowly. "Kory just said she'd have to call me back…"

"What does that mean!" Dick demanded, his worry evident.

"I… I'm sure everything's fine…" Roy offered, even though his feelings were to the contrary. "You know Kory… maybe she caught him working out when he wasn't supposed to and is giving him an earful," Roy grinned.

"No, something's wrong," Dick said seriously. "I have to…" Dick began, swinging his legs out from under the blankets, and noticing with dismay the weakness in his right leg.

"Stay right where you are! You are not going anywhere. I'll contact Titans Tower, and if they don't tell me anything, then I'll make an exception to my self-preservation policies, and call Batman. We'll have this Robin situation worked out in a minute. Lian – make sure he doesn't get up."

"All right daddy." Dick looked at the little girl, who smiled sheepishly at him. He made a move to stand, and she put her arms on him in an attempt to prevent it.

"Traitor," he accused. Her only response was a giggle.


Roy punched in the code for Titan's Tower and waited for someone to respond. The screen sprang to life with an image of Bart, aka Impulse staring back at him. "Hey Bart, is Robin around?"

"Um… no," Bart responded hesitantly, regarding Roy with unease. "He packed his stuff earlier and left – said he had to go home."

"Oh, is that all? Jeeze, Kory sounded real worried when I talked to her," Roy sighed with relief.

"Yeah, that's 'cause Robin didn't tell anyone he was leaving… I saw him on his way out," Bart responded sheepishly.

Roy shook his head in irritation. "All right, well thanks."


As the archer entered his friend's room the first sound he heard was that of Dick Grayson speaking in a low voice to Lian. He paused out of sight of the pair, listening in on the conversation. He was shocked and astounded by what he heard. Role model leader Dick Grayson was attempting to bribe his daughter into going against her father's wishes.

"Unbelievable," Roy said, shaking his head.

Dick looked up at him guility, but his eyes revelaed his worry for the secondboy who had takenup his name and costume.

"Tim's fine by the way, apparently he had to go home," Roy added to relieve Dick's fears.

"Oh," Dick said, disappointed.

Tim Drake lived in Gotham with his father and stepmother. His ever-busy father had no idea that his only son spent his nights, and indeed many weekends and vacations masquerading as Batman's partner and member of San Francisco's Teen Titans. If he ever did find out… well, no one wanted to know how that would end up. Oracle assisted Tim in creating excuses for his trips to the Tower, in the form of legitimate-sounding math and science camps.

For Dick Grayson, this all meant that he would not be able to contact Tim until at least nightfall, if he snuck out to join Batman on patrol. However, since he did not know why Tim had to go home, there was a good chance that he would be unable to talk to Tim for quite a while.

Dick asked Roy to hand him the com, and then set it to Robin's frequency. The response was silence; Tim had already turned off his communicator.


San Francisco Airport

Tim sat, unmoving, in a hard plastic chair in the San Francisco Airport, eagerly awaiting the next flight to Gotham. However, he had not been called back by his father, there was no family crisis he had to attend to. He just needed to leave San Francisco. He needed to leave Slade and the Titans, and give himself a chance to think things over. He had not really liked to Bart, he was going home; home, where he could avoid all communications with the superhero world due to his father's ignorance of his 'night life.'

His mind was reeling with thoughts of what Slade told him the night before. After Slade broke off the connection, Robin ran scans on the video feed he had watched. While he was no Oracle, Robin was quite handy with computers, and everything he did proved that the images were real.

It was real.

But how could it be true?

After spending years hero-worshipping Robin, and then Nightwing, he had never come across something like this before. The only thing that came close to it were the few times when Dick had been under the control of the crazed leader of an ancient cult, Brother Blood. But that was mind-control, and it was evident that Grayson was not acting on his own accord.

The images Slade showed him of Dick were so realistic. The way he moved, everything about him was normal. Except the colors he was wearing, and his objectives. But still… there was no way he was being controlled. No, he had gone against everything Batman had taught him, everything he and the Titans stood for…

But why? Why would he do that? And how did he end up back in with the Titans? Did he change his mind and rejoin them?

No, they would not do that! They would not cover for him if he switched sides on purpose! There had to be a reasonable explanation behind all of this! Maybe it was part of a plan to catch Slade, or maybe he was being blackmailed. Either way, Dick Grayson would not have become a villain. And if he did, even the Titans would not have protected him after he changed his mind. There was a reason for all of this, and he would find out what!

Tim stood up abruptly, intent on marching himself straight back to Titan's Tower and demand an explanation from anyone and everyone until he got to the truth. However, just as he turned to go, a twinge of pain erupted in the back of his neck, and he was suddenly filled with malice and doubt.

Lies! All he was ever told were lies! Dick pretended to be an older-brotherly figure to him. Dick had brought him to Bludhaven to train him, shared anecdotes with him, taught him how to work well with Batman, and yet he lied to him!

Tim felt betrayed, and the mere thought of Dick Grayson filled him with such anger that he forced his mind away from it.

He was going home. And he would put Slade, Nightwing, and the Titans as far behind him as possible. Nightwing and the Titans no longer had a place in his life. Gotham was all that mattered now. He would go back to being Batman's partner, and never have to deal with any of this again.

"Flight 103 to Gotham City is now boarding."

Decision made, Tim picked up his small duffle bag, and marched resolutely to the gate.


As Tim boarded the plane, a man in a hideout in the worst section of San Francisco watched his screens with great interest. A blinking dot gave away Robin's location.

"You can run little bird, but you will still be mine," Slade laughed in his nearly-empty lair.


A/N: A little shorter than usual, I know. But this was a transition chapter, so it had to be. There is still much to come though. Before anyone asks about what went on with Wally, I'm not really too sure. I just have comics that hint to things without explaining them, and I didn't even have those comics with me as I wrote.

Anyway though, is everyone liking how I put in more background information in each chapter? I figured it would be a lot easier to understand that way.

I would love to know what you thought.

-Sarah Shima