Hi, PeonixxFlame here!

I'm glad that so many of you enjoyed the last chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it so I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've had this chapter for a couple of days now trying to get it right but I haven't had time to upload it due to revision.

Which reminds me, another warning that my exams are next week so I probably wont be able to upload another chapter for a couple of weeks, I have to study, it sucks but I gotta do it.

Umm, with this chapter Dick will be referred to as Dick the whole way through and the new Robin will be reffered to as Robin, mostly. Just to stop any confusion that may arise.

Anyway enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think!

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Batman's replaced me?

The room was completely silent as everyone processed what was going on. Dick was transfixed on the other Robin and the rest of Young Justice continued to stare at him, Batman stood a couple of metres behind Dick, tense and watching the scene unfold in front of him.

Wally lasted all of five seconds before running up to Dick and trapping him in a hug; he didn't seem to notice Dick's body tense up at the sudden contact, probably too caught up in the moment. The rest of the team quickly followed suit and began to welcome Dick, showering him with hugs and pats. The only people that remained motionless were Dick, Batman and the Imposter.

Dick could hear his teammates talking at him, but he couldn't take his eyes off of the other Robin. He could feel his chest tighten as he continued to stare and Dick could feel his body go numb as the shock momentarily overcame him. His body began to slightly shake and all of the team's voices began to morph into one low drone as Dick's thoughts whirled around his mind a mile a minute.

W-why?...Why would Batman replace me? It doesn't make any sense, it's only been two months….did Batman really not trust me? Who is he? Where did Bruce find him?...Why?..

Dick watched as the other Robin stared in awe. The boy watched as the team surrounded Dick and Dick could see the slight disappointment flicker across his face as he watched the team envelope him.

Anger suddenly erupted throughout Dick. How dare the imposter look disappointed! What gave him the right! It brought Dick out of his daze and suddenly felt very uneasy with how the team surrounded him, making him feel very uncomfortable.

"Stop!" he shouted and forced his way through the group; out into the open so that he had a clear view of everyone in the room. They were all shocked at his sudden outburst; Dick turned and glared at his mentor,

"What the hell is going on here!?"

Batman took a step forward "Robin-"

"Who the hell is he!?" Dick shouted and pointed into the other Robin's direction, who glared back in return. No one replied for a moment and Dick saw his team refuse to look him in the eye. He returned his attention back to Batman,

"Well?" he questioned.

"That is Robin." Batman stated calmly, there was no point in trying to hide it now.

Dick visibly recoiled and felt his body tense up. He gave a glare in Robin's direction and saw the boy bring himself up to his full height, challenging him. It only infuriated Dick more.

"Are you serious!?" his attention was brought back to Batman once again.

"I have been missing for a little over two months and you've already replaced me!?" He walked up closer to Batman and began pointing his finger into his chest.

"Did you really not trust me that much that you've decided you wanted to get yourself another partner!?" He screamed and he saw Batman's lips thin into a tight line.

"Robin…" M'gann began and Robin spun round to face them.

"Shut up!" He shouted.

"Hey!" Superboy growled, not liking the way Dick snapped at her.

"And what about you lot?" Dick started, ignoring Conner. "You're all supposed to be my friends, what the hell you are doing with this… this imposter."

He watched as they all looked away, a guilty look on their faces.

"Do you really not care about me? Any of you?" He asked quietly, looking at everyone in the room. Although Dick was wearing his mask, everyone could see the betrayal in his eyes, the raw emotion in his body language, his voice, his face. Everyone one could see how much they hurt him.

"Dude," Wally stepped forward, "Of course we all care for you-"

"-Then why?" Dick's voice shook as he stared at Wally. No one could think of a suitable answer and the room was silent. Then, out of nowhere there came a chuckle. Everyone looked at Dick as he had a sad smile on his face,

"So…what he said was true." Dick spoke quietly, almost to himself. Batman's eyes narrowed,

"Who said what was true?" he asked and everyone waited for an answer. His question remained unanswered as Dick stayed silent, appearing lost in thought. Artemis stepped forward,

"Well, whatever he said Robin, it's not true." She spoke calmly, afraid that any moment Dick might break. He looked up at her sharply,

"Then why is he the only one who is making any sense!?" He half shouted and glared at her. Kaldur was the next to speak,

"Robin. Who is the one you speak of?" Dick just shook his head, for some reason he felt unwilling to give up Slade's identity. Batman grabbed him by the arm and spun him around to face him,

"Robin, I need to know. Tell me." Batman growled but Dick just glared straight back and pulled his arm free, unfazed at Batman's tone.

"Why does it matter?" Dick raised his arms. "He's the only one around here who I can trust!"

"Robin you can trust us." M'gann spoke softly and Dick just gave a cold laugh.

"Trust you? How am I supposed to trust you when you trade me in as soon as it starts to look a little rough!? And him?" he pointed to Batman. "He kept one of the most important things of my life hidden from me and then replaced me with some kid! I had trust and faith in all of you to get me out of that hell with the Joker, the pain was unbearable."

Dick's voice began to crack as he relived the memories. His voice was quiet and shaking when he spoke, looking everyone in the eye. "Every day I pleaded for you to come and rescue me but you never did. I was left waiting for a total stranger to get me out of that-that hell! So yeah, I can really trust you!"

"That's where you've been all this time? With a stranger? Why didn't you come back as soon as you got free?" Conner questioned, seemingly unfazed by Dick's half confession.

Dick froze, and he knew that everyone notice him freeze up. He couldn't tell them what went on there, to say that he almost abandoned them.

"That's…not important." He grumbled. It was then that everyone seemed to notice how well Dick appeared. He looked healthy and his costume was slightly tight along his arms, where he grew extra muscle from his training with Slade.

He saw their eyes grow slightly suspicious,

"Robin?" Artemis asked, "What where you doing all this time?"

"Nothing" He argued, suddenly growing angry when he realised how quickly they were turning on him. "Don't try to turn this on me, don't you dare!" Dick's voice grew dangerous.

"Robin." Batman spoke, "We need to talk in private. Now."

"No!"

"Robin." Batman growled,

"I said no dammit!" Dick shouted and flung his hands in the air in anger, "I've been back here for five minutes and already you've all made me out to be the bad guy!? What kind of friends are you?"

He faced them once more, sending a glare to every one of them. Each held a different emotion, some were upset, some looked guilty, some stared accusingly, and others didn't show any signs of emotion at all; just a cold, calculating look.

Dick took a quick glance at the other Robin, noticing how he didn't speak throughout the entirety of the argument; Dick wondered just how much Batman told him, probably everything. He opened his mouth to speak to the boy but no words came, he just couldn't find anything to say to him. There was only anger and pain when he looked at the other Robin.

Without another look to anyone, Dick stormed out of the cave and exited the zeta tubes. No one tried to stop him.

The cave was silent as the overhead computer announced Dick's departure; no one knew what to say, they were all still coming to terms with what happened, including Batman.

The new Robin, Jason Todd, turned to his mentor,

"Br-Batman, was that…?"

Batman nodded in his direction but didn't speak, his gaze still focused on where Dick once stood. Jason saw the team look in his direction as his voice echoed throughout the silent cave and he felt slightly uncomfortable under their stares. But Jason wasn't going to be intimated and brought himself up tall and looked each of them in the eye. Frustration coursed through him at the way they averted their gazes from him and shifted uncomfortably, looking ashamed.

It made Jason scowl, it had taken him so long just to get them to talk to him and they even had some fun on their last mission. But as soon as 'Golden boy' walked in they turned their backs on him. It wasn't Jason's fault that they had befriended him; it wasn't fair to take it out on him.

But Jason couldn't help but feel jealous of Dick, seeing how much his friends cared about him. Jason never had anybody like that in his life, and he wished that at some point they would feel that way about him too. Jason took a glance around the room and noticed how apart he was from everyone else, from his physical position and emotional. But he shook his head and brought his attention back to the current situation; he could mope and hope all he wanted later.

Jason tried to wait patiently for everyone to come back to the real world from their thoughts, knowing that Dick's sudden arrival may have been a shock. He didn't know the guy well so wasn't totally concerned and soon he could begin to feel himself get more frustrated the longer the silence continued.

"So," Jason broke the silence, "Are we going to do something or not." He stated, bringing everyone back to the present. And everyone glanced over at him to see his arms folded and a scowl on his face.

Wally stepped forward to the Dark Knight,

"Batman, what did Robin mean when he said you kept something important from him?" Wally questioned, he was eager to find out what Batman had done to make Robin so angry.

The team all looked to Batman, all wanting to hear what he had to say. Batman thought it over in his head; he couldn't' tell them in risk of compromising their identities, but he also knew Dick was in a delicate state and the team would have to know the situation. Batman almost growled out loud.

Finally after weighing his options, he turned his attention to the team.

"What I am going to tell you is strictly confidential. I cannot tell you the details in risk of compromising our identities but I feel that you need to know before the situation worsens. But before I do you have to promise me you will not look into this in detail."

The team looked momentarily shocked, all feeling slightly honoured that Batman was going to trust them with such delicate information.

Batman watched as their faces turned serious at the weight of the information they were about to receive and they all gave him their word. Batman sighed,

"When Robin was younger he watched as Zucco tore his family apart." Batman brought Zucco's picture onto one of the holograms. "With my help, we managed to put this scum behind bars for what he did and Robin began to carry on with his life." He paused once more. "A few days before sending Robin's kidnapping there was word that Zucco had escaped from Arkham. But at the time I was having a few problems with Robin obeying orders and such, so I decided to keep this from him until I was sure he would listen. But then the Joker happened."

"And so this mystery person rescued Robin, then told him the truth and now he's furious." Conner concluded and Batman nodded. Kaldur stepped forward,

"What would you have us do?"

"Stop Robin from doing something he'll regret."

Dick took off as soon as he was transported back to the phone booth in Gotham. He felt angry, angry and hurt. How could his friends treat him with such suspicion? They did realise what he had been through, what gave them the right to judge him?

Dick continued to race through the city, momentarily enjoying the feeling of flight as he swung across the rooftops. He could almost forget for a moment about his problems, but the moment passed and soon Dick could feel the beginnings of tears prick at the corners of his eyes.

God he was tired, the past events were beginning to catch up on him and take their toll. Dick had learned to keep his emotions in check for the most part, but he knew he was reaching his limit. The tears were proof of that. But Dick shook his head and continued to move and before he realised it, Dick had arrived at the docks.

The area was quiet and Dick slowly walked to the pier. He was silent as he listened to the waves lap against the side of the pier in a gentle rhythm, lulling him into a sense of calm. The whole scene was beautiful, the sunset casted a golden glow over the entire docks and made the ocean sparkle.

Dick sat himself down on the edge of the pier and went over everything in his head. Batman- no, Bruce, openly admitted to his face that he had kept Zucco from him. It seemed like Slade was telling the truth and Dick couldn't help but wonder if he was right about everything else too, probably…

While he was thinking about Bruce Dick's thoughts turned to the new Robin, who was he? Where did Bruce find him? Dick gave himself a hollow chuckle, he knew Bruce didn't trust him but it hurt to see how quickly he had replaced him. It had only been two months, had Bruce really given up on him that quickly? And his friends, they didn't seem to be too worried about his abduction. They had already accepted the other Robin, it hurt.

Everything hurt. Dick could feel his chest tighten; it was getting difficult to breath. How? How could they all do this to him? He didn't deserve it, he hadn't done anything wrong. Dick could feel his body begin to shake and the tears began to flow down his face. He didn't make any effort to try to stop it from happening; he needed to let it out, all of it. The hurt, the pain, the betrayal. The people he thought cared for him threw him to the side and the only one who is making any sense is a cold blooded murderer.

Dick had no idea what he was going to do next, but he knew that he didn't want to see Bruce for a long while. He still couldn't believe that Zucco escaped. Unbridled fury flowed throughout Dick at the thought of that man, and he felt his hands clench into fists.

It was Zucco's fault, if he hadn't of broken out of prison Bruce wouldn't have kept anything from him. This man had caused so much pain throughout Dick's life, tore his family away from him and now this man was roaming around the streets. Dick vowed that he wouldn't allow him to destroy any more families.

He stood from his position on the pier and wiped away the remaining tears from his eyes. He was done with his outburst, no more tears, he was going to find Zucco and stop him before he could ruin anyone's lives. For once in a long time Dick felt finally in control of something, he hardened his expression and took one last look out towards the ocean.

As he took in the scene in front of him a light breeze ruffled his hair.

"Are you here to drag me back?" he called out without turning; there was no point, he already knew who it was.

"Robin please" M'gann half pleaded and Dick slowly turned to face them. The whole team was present, except for one.

"What? You didn't bring my replacement along?" Dick spoke sarcastically, he watched as they all averted their gazes, Dick didn't know if that was worse than if they openly admitted it.

"Robin listen-" Artemis began

"-No you listen!" Dick interrupted, suddenly angry again.

"I have been through hell." He growled. "The Joker is a psychopath. He is ten times worse than your average criminal and his torture methods are even more dangerous. I was stuck playing his sick games for three days," Dick trailed off and no one said a word. Dick brought his head up again,

"I waited for you, and you never came." Everyone noticed Dick's body slightly shake and his hand rub his arm subconscious, where Joker had stabbed a poker in.

"And then, I come back and find you with my imposter. What about me?" He glowered at them, Wally stepped forward,

"Robin you don't understand-"

"Save it, I don't want to hear it." Dick stalked forwards trying to get past the group but Aqualad and Superboy moved in front him, blocking his path.

"Move" Dick growled up at the two.

"Robin." Aqualad began, "We understand that you're mad right now but going after Zucco will not help things."

Dick's whole body tensed up and he lowered his gaze,

"Who told you that?" He voice was low, dangerous.

"Batman." Superboy stated, unconcerned at Dick's sudden change.

"I see." Dick continued, "What else did he tell you?"

"Only that he tore your family apart when you were younger, nothing specific." Superboy replied

"And that he had escaped from Arkham before you were taken." Artemis added.

Dick relaxed minutely at the news, they didn't know everything.

"That is none of your business, now move." Dick tried again but Aqualad only shook his head,

"No my friend, we are trying to help you."

Dick sighed, "Fine."

And with amazing speed he flipped himself over Superboy and started running. He had to get away from the water and get rid of Aqualad's advantage. He leaped to the side as two arrows soared past him and sent two bird'a'rangs back in return, in which the team dodged.

A flash of yellow and Kid Flash stood in front of him, arms out.

"Dude, don't make us do this." Dick only scowled and stood back in a defensive stance. Kid Flash realised that Dick wasn't going to stop raced at him, arm raised for a punch. But before he could register what happened he was flying into Miss Martian as Dick flipped him over his shoulder.

Dick quickly turned and blocked an oncoming punch from Superboy. He braced himself but didn't go flying into the wall like he thought; Superboy was going easy on him. He continued to dodge and block Superboy's attacks until the Kryptonian slipped up and placed too much weight on his front leg. Dick wasted no time in sweeping the leg from underneath him and Superboy landed with a hard thud.

"Sorry" Dick whispered and quickly shot off to Artemis. He was too close for her to use her bow so instead they began hand to hand combat. She put up a good fight, with no powers both were forced to push their bodies to the absolute limit to keep up with the metas and it was paying off. She had excellent stamina and strength, it was difficult but soon Dick had the upper hand and overpowered Artemis, throwing her to the ground.

Before he could recover Aqualad had gained a massive amount of water in the shape of a dragon and slammed it into Dick, pushing off his feet. He landed close to Aqualad on the floor and with a glance saw Aqualad was stood on the wet floor, Dick quickly charged up his glove and slammed it to the ground, forcing an electric current to pass through Aqualad and sending him to the floor. Dick was insulated by his suit so was unaffected.

Dick quickly got to his feet and began running once again, with the team up and hot on his trail. He attempted to hide but the team were too close for him to disappear completely so instead as Dick turned a corner he threw some bird'a'rangs onto an abandoned building to his left. After he slowed to a stop, and waited. Wally was first to arrive with the rest of the team following close behind, none of them noticed Dick's projectiles on the wall. They stopped a few metres away from Dick and the bombs.

"Robin please, stop this." M'gann said as they got closer, but Dick only shook his head and took a step back.

"Sorry Miss M, but I have to do this." He reached up and pressed a button on his glove before they got too close. Suddenly an explosion ripped through the air as the nearly warehouse wall blew up, catching their attention. Dick threw down a few smoke pellets for good measure and fled the scene before any of them could realise what had happened.

Once Dick was out of sight he quickly brought out his grappling gun and fired it onto the roof of a nearby building. He swung himself up and began to make his way to crime alley, to start searching for clues. But as he got halfway there a dark shadow began to move and Dick stopped on a large, open rooftop.

"Batman." Dick stated and the Dark Knight moved out of the shadows to stand in front of him, his eye caught a sudden movement to his right and he saw the other Robin move from the shadows as well.

"Robin, stop this and come back to the mountain." Batman stated, Dick let out a laugh,

"Robin? Isn't he supposed to be Robin now?" Dick questioned, his finger pointing in Robin's direction.

"Hey!" Robin shouted at the gesture and took a step forward.

"We'll talk about it when we get back to the mountain." Batman said before Robin could say more, Dick watched as Robin growled and took a step back with a scowl on his face. Dick brought his attention back to Batman,

"I don't want to go back; I'm going to find Zucco." Dick stated. A snort came from his right and Dick spun round to face a smirking Robin.

"What's so funny?" Dick growled. He sent Robin glare but the boy seemed unfazed by it and stood his ground,

"Nothing. It's just that, how do you expect to find Zucco? Batman's searched for ages and he hasn't found him, so what chance do you have in finding him?"

Dick's eyebrow twitched, this Robin was beginning to irritate him. He stalked up close to Robin so that their faces were inches apart,

"What the hell do you know?" he spat. Robin seemed momentarily stunned at Dick's anger but quickly returned the challenge, he puffed out his chest and met Dick's glare with his own. After a moment Robin opened his mouth to speak but was cut off,

"Robin" Batman warned and Robin quickly shut his mouth. Dick held his glare for a couple of moments longer until he turned back to Batman,

"What will you do when you find him?" Batman questioned, a look of confusion passed across Dick's face.

"What do you mean? I'm going to stop him of course."

"But how?" Batman pressed,

"Well I'm-wait what?" Realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. "Did you think-? Did you think that I was-?" Dick couldn't even finish the sentence, it was too horrible.

"God, Bruce!" Not caring that he called him by his real name, "How could you think that I would…would kill him!? I've been gone for two months; I haven't turned into a murderer!"

"Dick you are in a very delicate state of mind right now, I need-"

"Batman, you know me! I would never!.." Dick paced around the roof slightly,

"No," He stopped and looked at his mentor in defiance, "Never mind. I don't care what you think; I'm still going to find Zucco."

Batman shook his head, "I can't let you do that Robin."

Dick shook his head, and then ran at him. He attempted to jump over Batman, like he did with Superboy, but Batman had foreseen this and grabbed Dick's leg mid jump and threw him back down in front of him.

Dick rolled out of the fall and quickly got back to his feet; he dodged a punch from Robin and countered with his own. Robin blocked it smoothly and came in with a kick, Dick jumped out of the way of it and came in with a punch to the face, it caught Robin on the cheek and he staggered back a few paces. He sent a glare to Dick before rushing in with another punch, fuelled by anger. Dick calmly side stepped and grabbed hold of his arm, in one motion he twisted and held it behind his back. Robin let out a small cry and Dick kicked him in the back, letting go of his arm as he fell to the ground.

Dick ran again at Batman, who stood to one side and sent a kick to his side. Batman blocked it and swiped Dick's remaining leg out from under him, Dick came crashing down to the ground with a thud onto his belly. Before Dick could retaliate, Batman placed himself on top of him and held him down so that he couldn't move. Dick struggled as Batman reached into his utility belt but couldn't break free, knowing what Batman was going to do.

"Don't!" he cried as Batman plunged the needle into his arm, he continued to struggle for a few moments but felt his muscles grow more and more heavy.

"I'm sorry Dick." Batman whispered,

"No..." Dick mumbled as his eyelids began to close, a tear slipped down his face as he fell into unconsciousness.

xxxxx

What did you think? review and let me know!

Right, also I have a question for you all. Do you prefer me to continue to write longer chapters or would you like me to shorten them a bit?

I know because I can get carried away a bit when I write and end up posting super long chapters at times, so let me know if you want it shortened. :)

Ok, I think thats it so I'll see you all next time,

PhoenixxFlame