Disclaimer: I don't own any of the DC characters and don't make no money off of them otherwise I would be a millionaire by now.

A/N: Alright people, Dark Austral is back! After surviving the week of hell and now battling a cold, she finally has time during Spring Break to write the next chapter. Welcome both new and old readers for now the battle of wits is about to begin. On one side we got our favorite villains, Deathstroke and Lex Luther and Robin. massive cheers from the crowds And on the other side are our heroes the Titans, JLA and Batman. another wave of cheers Who will win? Who will crumple under the weight of words? Is Robin truly gone forever? How will the Titans react? So many questions! And there's only one way to find out! lowers flag Let the battle begin!

Ch. 21 Titans Forever

Raven stared through the window, looking out at Jump City. In the dark recesses of her hood, she fought to control her emotions. Rage wanted to punch the window, accusing herself of why she let the robot Robin go on his own. Grief wanted to curl into a ball and cry herself to sleep and never wake up. She had lost a friend in that piece of metal. And Fear; Fear was trembling like a leaf beneath the shadow. Her worry for their Robin, the Robin whose presence in her mind she missed so much, had increased ten fold.

The sofa behind her groaned and she heard the metal footsteps of Cyborg approach her from behind. Taking his place at her side, he let his shoulders sag and his dark brown eyes fall in upon themselves. "Raven…"

The woman in questioned remained silent. Cyborg merely sighed, "Raven, I think for the first time…I'm completely lost. I mean, even if the robot wasn't the real one, just that he exuded that same presence, that same determinism…and now he's gone. Seeing his body in there, I just to pound that scum into the cement."

"Cyborg."

The half-robot's eyes widened and locked eyes with the witch. "Rae?"

A small smile tugged at her pale lips, "Don't complain."

Cyborg raised his hand and scratched the back of his hand, laughing. "Yeah. Thanks, Rae."

Raven nodded, her violet eyes turning and watching Starfire and Beastboy enter the lounge. "Anything?"

Beastboy flopped down on the sofa. "Nope. Just that now there's this fire way at the other end of Jump City near the docks."

Starfire landed softly on the carpet, "The police did not need our help and told us to take a break involving coffee."

Cyborg nodded, "Totally understand."

A beam flashed in the lounge and Green Arrow appeared in the lounge carrying a black heavy case with Black Canary waving at the weary Titans.

Black Canary flashed a smile, "How are my favorite gals doing?"

Starfire clasped her hands in front of her, "Tired…"

Canary raised an eyebrow when she heard a deep sadness emit from Starfire's voice, "What is it hon?"

"We have lost the robot we called Robin." Tears sprung Starfire's eyes. Canary took a step forward and embraced the fragile alien princess. Rubbing her back, the older woman felt the redhead break down once more, crying her heart out.

Green Arrow sent a worried gaze at Cyborg and Raven, "What?"

Cyborg straightened his back, but Raven broke in, "He had something to check on, so we split up. After the fighting, I came back and found Cyborg lying on the ground, his battery almost dead. I quickly placed him in his room and connected him to Sally and watched as the battery was slowly being recharged. It was then that I started to search the other rooms. I found Robin's room a mess, uniforms strewn about. Also, on the roof, there were signs of a battle. Either way, Robin disappeared and we found…" Her voiced hitched, tears brimmed her eyes.

Cyborg coughed, "This general guy from the League of Shadows had the robot tied to the chair, beaten up and killed."

A silence fell upon the group. Green Arrow felt the case slip from his fingers. He quickly knelt down and let the case fall softly on the ground. "What a shame."

Beastboy walked up to Arrow, his eyes forcing themselves to hide the grief and eyed the case, "What's that for?"

"Batman called and told us to met him here and to bring tools used for detecting bugs and lie detectors."

Cyborg's eyes widened, "What? Why would he need any of that stuff, we got our own here!"

"Because Deathstroke knows your technology and how the Tower works. He's broken in here before am I correct?" Black Canary replied, breaking her hold over Starfire. "We read Robin's reports. The man knows how to override everything you Titans have thanks to Terra, but thankfully despite his numerous run-ins with the JLA, he doesn't know all our little tools."

Green Arrow nodded and picked up the case once again, "That's why we think Batman's making Titans Tower the safe zone between Deathstroke and the JLA, while he searches for Robin."

The roaring of an engine resonated outside. Raven peered down and watched as the Batmobile pulled into the garage. "He's here."

Green Arrow began to march his way to the elevator, "Well, come along, might as well see whom Batman caught."

Starfire glanced at Canary, "I do not understand."

Canary smiled softly, "Starfire, the only reason Batman would request such equipment is if he caught someone who might give us valuable information…especially regarding Robin."

Hope sparked up in those emerald eyes and the redhead found herself floating off the ground. Hard core determination made Starfire resemble her old self, "Then let us meet this informant."

The elevator door slide open and Arrow entered, giving room for the others to join him. "You guys ever have been through an interrogation?"

Beastboy grinned, "Well, if you call Robin slamming some guy into a wall and yelling at him to give him info, than ya."

Arrow shot Canary a weary look, muttering, "Like father, like son." And with that the elevator door closed.

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Robin followed silently behind Batman, knowing full well where they were heading. The basement held not only storage but down a narrow hallway, a couple jail cells along with a tiny interrogation room. Batman palmed open a door revealing the small bare concrete wall of the very room he had mentioned in the latter. A metal desk and two metal chairs were the only furniture. Not even a visible glass window was present, but Robin knew exactly where the monitoring cameras where and the invisible window too, giving off the appearance of a wall. Hell, he pretty much had been present during the blueprint and construction of not only this room but also the Tower in general.

Batman turned and opened the room a door down, revealing a bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower present. "Get in the shower."

Robin peeked in the room, "If you want me to take a quick shower, it will be a bit difficult with these handcuffs." The younger man grinned up at Batman, but his grin disappeared when Batman sent him a cold glare. "Fine, fine." Making his way into bathroom, he stood beneath the showerhead. He stood quietly as he watched Batman turn the showerhead on full blast. Ice-cold water drowned the former Boy Wonder for the next few minutes. Closing his eyes, he spit out water and waited, not letting one complaint or sarcastic remark slip through his mouth. When the groaning of the knob cut the water off, Robin opened his eyes, shaking his head lightly.

Batman grabbed a towel and wiped his face dry, "Seems that if there are any bugs on you, they must be waterproof otherwise-"

"I would have been shocked," joked Robin.

Batman just eyed the boy with an impassive look, "Or your pain tolerance has increased drastically that you would not show the pain of electrocution."

A small chuckle escaped past Robin's slightly pale lips, "Yeah…Slade did always try to do that…"

The Dark Knight stepped back into the hall, "Alright let's go."

Robin nodded and walked into the interrogation room, with Batman behind him.

"Take your seat."

The young man sat down and leaned forward, his hair sliding downwards, water dripping down onto the floor. Batman uncuffed Robin's hands before locking them again so the back of the chair was between Robin's back and his hands. He stepped to the side and watched Robin shift in the chair to get comfortable. A sudden urge to just hug the boy and tell him that he was so relieved to find him alive coursed through his body. But he couldn't…not now…not until he knew everything.

Robin's cheek moved upwards, squinting his right eye. Batman leaned forward, "Something in your eye?"

"Just water."

Taking a closer look, Batman could make a tiny film, "You got something else beside water in your eye."

For a split second fear flashed in those crystal blue eyes, "It's fine, really."

Not taking that for an answer, Batman knew the boy was hiding something and grabbed Robin's hair, jerking his head back. Robin yelped and tried to close his eyes but Batman used his other hand to pry open the right eye and with one finger gently took out the blue contact. Confusion ran rampant in his mind, why would Robin wear contacts that were of the same color of his natural eyes. Doing the left eye now, he found the contact's partner, released Robin's hair and took a step back. Pulling out a bag, he placed the contacts in bag.

"Slade wouldn't bug those, Batman. They're just regular contacts." Batman eyed the person where the soft-spoken words had originated. Raven locks now hovered above Robin's eyes.

"And why would you need regular contacts? Ones that have the same color as your eyes?"

The black hair moved slightly but nothing was revealed. "Robin, look at me."

Nothing.

"Robin. Look. At. Me."

Robin tilted his head up and stared at Batman, a pleading look encompassing his face. Batman found himself staring at a younger Robin, a 10 year old Richard Grayson staring up at him, eyes pleading with him to tell him why his parents had to die. "Don't talk like that please…you sound just like him."

But the plea fell upon deaf ears. Those eyes, those once beautiful eyes now forever scarred, entranced Batman. With the enhancement of his lens, Batman made out each burn mark on the boy's irises. He watched with wonder as those crystal eyes shifted to the door, taking on a deep ocean color. No wonder he had worn contacts, with those ever shifting eyes…

"Did Deathstroke burn your eyes?"

The door slide open but it seemed like time itself slowed down. Batman kept his gaze fixed on his ward. Robin eyed the opening gap with caution. His body shivered as the air hit his wet body. Yet that air was nothing like the icy blast that hit Batman when those lips mouthed the answer.

"No, I did it myself."

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A/N: holds up hands Hold on folks, I know this is a cliffhanger, but just hold on. Since I've been busy these past few days, I'm gonna treat you guys to a double post this week. I'm already working on the next chapter, so I will hopefully have it posted up on the usually Tuesday. Until then, take care and remember to do those wonderful reviews!