A/N: I know I keep saying thanks for all of the reviews but they really do keep me motivated to keep writing this story.

Sokka-Mushroom, I know what you mean about Dick being an angsty teen. Bruce does like to bait him though.

There was only an hour before Bruce's charity function started. While he went off to shower and prepare a speech, I took the opportunity to browse through the Bat Computer files. I have Cyborg to thank for the improvement in my hacking skills. The sheer amount of files Bruce keeps is staggering. With so short a timeframe I had to pass over the information he'd gathered on the Titans for what I was really after.

Slade's file was larger than I'd expected. Mostly, our information was the same: he was a hired assassin who sometimes went by the name of Deathstroke, and had near-superhuman physical and mental abilities that he got from volunteering for an experimental top secret procedure during his military service. Bruce had been tracking his activities world-wide, while I mostly contained my research to his activities in Jump City—I'm only a teenager, I've got to start small. That Bruce had so much information on him meant that he must have tried and failed to bring him in too. That gave me a strange sense of relief. There weren't many criminals that slipped through Batman's fingers.

I closed down the file and sat back in my computer chair. Bruce never did anything without a reason, and judging from all of the files I'd had to bypass on Titan activities, there wasn't a whole lot that went on in Jump City that he didn't know about either. Maybe I should have been a little creeped out by how closely he kept an eye out for me. Maybe later I would be, but at that moment a small voice in my brain was telling me that he had brought me back to Gotham to team up once more. He needed me. All the drama with Starfire had given him a convenient excuse to summon me without outright asking me for help. I smirked. Bruce, you never change.

Apart from the thrill of the chase, there wasn't much that Batman had to offer Slade, nothing that he could tempt him out of hiding with and know for a certainty that he would come. There was really only one thing that Slade wanted: an apprentice. Namely, me. I was the Boy Wonder, trained by the World's Greatest Detective and able to stand toe-to-toe with Slade even without all of the fancy upgrades the military gave him. So far as I knew there wasn't another out there like me. Oh there were plenty of super-powered kids running around, but men like Bruce and Slade don't want to train side-kicks who already had an edge on them. They want someone whose skill couldn't be doubted, whose glory would carry their legacy on. Trust me, if I could fly and shoot starbolts Bruce would have left me to find vengeance for my parents on my own. He'd blame me for not saving their lives in the first place. But a boy with no powers and no resources needed someone to guide him. Slade just didn't like the direction Batman had taken me in.

As I dressed for the event, I was feeling downright cocky. The revelation that this was all an elaborate way for Bruce to avoid having to admit that he needed my help took my ego and inflated it like a gust of super-breath.

I went to find Starfire before the guests arrived. She was with Alfred, and I knew she would be in good hands. I found them in the kitchen where Alfred was pouring her a cup of tea. Wayne Manor has two kitchens. One is an enormous combination of marble countertops and teak wood cabinets that was mostly reserved for the servants to prepared for events like the one that night. The second was a smaller one located in the family wing. Alfred had sort of commandeered it over the years, and it was the place Bruce and I usually stalked to when we couldn't sleep or were still reeling from a recent fight. Alfred was always there with a cup of tea or cocoa and some sage advice.

"You are certain that Batman's plan will work? What if Slade is victorious and he does the capturing of Robin?" I heard Starfire ask as I came down the hallway. Alfred must have told her that this part of the house was strictly off-limits to anyone but family. I paused outside the door.

"I assure you, Miss Starfire, if there is one thing I can promise it is that Batman would never let anything happen to Robin." False promise there, Alfred. I made a face at his weak attempt to put her at ease. I've been stabbed, shot, strung up and sprayed all on Batman's watch. She must have seen through his words as well because she said, "I do not wish to underestimate Slade. Robin has tried most diligently to bring him to justice and been unsuccessful. I cannot help but worry."

I cleared my throat and pulled open the door. Starfire was seated on one of the stools next to the kitchen island dressed in a tight satin evening gown the same shade of purple as her uniform. Her hair was pinned in a loose bun just behind her left ear with curls spilling over her shoulder. She looked gorgeous. At first, habit made me bite my tongue and look past her at some distant point on the wall, until I realized that I was finally free to tell her that she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

"Wow, Star." It didn't come out quite as eloquently as I'd hoped. She giggled and got up from her chair to show off the dress. It was sleeveless and fit tight to her skin. There were slits up either side that showed off her long legs whenever she moved. It was glamorous and flashy enough to suit Bruce's guests, but it was also perfect in case she needed to do any fighting. There was nothing to restrict her movements, and no fabric that might get in the way.

"Robin! I have been most anxious to see you again. Is this place not glorious? Alfred has shown me the grounds and regaled me with stories of your childhood. Were we right to give you and Batman the space? You appear much calmer than before." It's cute the way she starts going a mile-a-minute when she's excited. From the other side of the island, Alfred was pointedly not looking at us as he stirred his tea, though beneath his pencil moustache I could see him smiling.

"Yea, thanks. I'm feeling much better now."

"Alfred tells me that Batgirl will be here soon. I did not realize you used to have another friend that was a girl with whom you fought crime. But then, I did not know that you spent the week of your birthday alone with the 'insane women who will do anything for attention.' Why have you not invited Batgirl to the Tower?"

Now there was a loaded question if ever I heard one. She was only teasing about the Crazy Chicks Unleashed part. Since starting the Titans I'd never been gone for a full week at a time. The Babs part though… she was fishing. Truth was I couldn't deny there had been something there. We never dated, mostly just flirted back and forth until Bruce took me aside and started drilling the 'no dating team members' rule into my head. It had been a crush. Nothing for Starfire to feel threatened about. Still, I'm not so sure about Babs. There'd been times when she treated me like the little kid who followed her around, and others were I'd thought she genuinely liked me. When I left Gotham I cut ties with everyone in it, including her. I'd missed her, but bringing her to the Tower was too much of a reminder of the life I was trying to leave behind.

I hesitated too long and Starfire picked up on the direction of my thoughts. Her eyes grew thoughtful—not the expression I'd expected.

"The guests will be arriving at any minute. I'm supposed to be the sitting duck, remember?" I joked. I held out my hand. "Oh, and it would probably be a good idea if you keep the flying to a minimum tonight. Sorry. Gotham's not as used to seeing superheroes as Jump is." She took it in stride, grounding herself as she strode over to take my arm like a runway model gliding across the catwalk. I grinned. For the first time ever I actually felt like the playboy rich kid the papers made me out to be.

Bruce and I always had to enter these things at the same time. He had two girls with him tonight—tall skinny blonds who didn't seem to speak any English. Classy, Bruce. They kept shooting Starfire nasty looks over their shoulders. Starfire ignored them. Her eyes were focused on the gardens which had been decorated with white tents and wrought iron candleholders. There were elegantly-dressed people everywhere, and the moment Bruce stepped out the door a spotlight from one of the upper balconies focused on him.

His speech was witty as usual, though I was a little startled when he pulled me up beside him and announced that I had come home for a quick visit. The crowd of complete strangers clapped and cheered as if my presence meant anything to them. Then Starfire and I were allowed to go down to the party. Between the two of us we attracted a lot of attention, and for a while there it felt like half of Gotham was coming up to shake my hand and introduce themselves to Starfire. Each of them would go home with stories of how they had charmed her with their wit or dazzled her with their money—that's just the type of people Bruce invites to these things.

"Do you want to grab some cake?"

"Dick!"

It wouldn't have been smart of me to somersault out of Bab's reach as she came up to tackle me from behind, and I had to remind myself that I was in civilian clothes to keep from doing it just to annoy her. Her arms wound momentarily around my throat, cutting off my air just long enough to make me choke before sliding to a more appropriate position for a hug. I brought my arm up to awkwardly hug her elbow. She squeezed me with everything that she had, and but it was nothing compared to the Starfire hugs I'd grown used to.

She stepped around me where I could see her, and we grinned at each other. Her shoulder-length red hair was held back by a simple black headband, and she was wearing a short black cocktail dress. Her eyes slid from me to Starfire and went very round. I held my breath. It was the moment I'd been waiting for with equal parts dread and hope. How would they like each other? Would they get along?

"Hello, my name is Starfire. I take it you are Babs?" Starfire smiled and held out her hand. Babs glanced down at it, then at me. I must have looked terrified because she burst into laughter and grabbed Star's hand.

"Hey Starfire, I've been dying to meet you!"