Disclaimer: The following story is based on/inspired by characters created by DC Comics. By no means do I take credit for their creation.

Author's notes: Hey, guys, sorry for the wait. Anyway, here's the site I use for background information (google search: titanstower; 1st result) I love this site! It's so informative and up to date. Sorry I didn't put this up sooner…I kept forgetting :-(. Also, just FYI the Ravager, Wintergreen, Joseph, Grant, and Rose are NOT original characters. I'm not going to put original characters in this particular fic, heh. If I do though, I'll definitely make note of it. Then again, you guys probably already knew this, lol, and I'm being silly…I blame the caffeine…

P.S. I also slightly revised the last chapter and added a little part about Dick searching for the horrible scream he heard the night his parents died (during the scene just before the 2nd Robin comes in). Not sure if it was over the top, but thought I'd give it a go, let me know what you think if you go back and read it...

…ok this is getting too long…enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think:-)

------------------------------------------

Looking up, Dick's eyes became wider. His mouth fell open with shock at the sight of a young boy swooping down from the building that Barbara had come from earlier. The boy landed directly opposite of Dick and stood there in a shaky battle ready stance. His hair was a glossy jet black, like Dick's, and he was wearing the unmistakable red and green Robin costume.

Chapter 19: Detachment

"Robin!" Back in Jump City, Slade shouted into radio, "What's going on? Your mask cam is still offline and I can't see anything! Robin!" Suddenly, Slade's one eye widened as the numbers of Dick's vitals refreshed on his staticky display monitor. "Oh my God…the Xynothium levels…" he brought the microphone close to his mouth, "Robin! Get back to the estate now! That's an order!" He shouted again when Dick didn't respond. "Robin!"

It can't be…no…so soon…Bruce, how could you…Dick clenched his hands into trembling fists, lowered his head, and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Jason, no!" Barbara screamed still bound by the Xynothium polymer, "Go back! Run!"

"Jason…so that's your name boy…" Dick hissed half to himself.

"Jason?" On the other end of the radio a small escaped Slade's lips, he knew what was happening now, "Robin!" Slade shouted into the radio again, "Get back here! That's an order!"

At that very moment, Dick felt something deep inside his chest snap, like a little bone or twig. That's when he finally heard it, the torturously painful noise. The one he heard that night when he should have died with his parents. Though brief, it filled his burning ears to the brim with its stabbing multi harmonic shriek. Where was it coming from? It was nothing like he had heard…like it was from the depths of hell itself…it was excruciating! Yet, it was everything and more than he had hoped it would be.

Still lost in the horrible sound, Dick became faintly aware that his body was now moving at an alarming rate. He was looming over the boy in a heartbeat. Jason didn't stand a chance.

As if he were experiencing everything from a distance, Dick felt his hands grow numb as one roughly took the boy up by the collar while the other threw itself across the young child's visage over and over again. Eventually the black Robin mask grew loose and fluttered off the boy's darkening face. Still, with no wish to stop, Dick's hands continued to batter the small face. They were so thirsty…

Thick, red images began to smear across Dick's mind. They were memories of, bloody screams, war, wide eyes, and entrails. Like the time when he first put on the mask, the images were so large and forceful that it was agonizing to try and focus on any of them. There was just too many of them!

Riippp! The collar of the Robin costume shredded through the Dick's Red X claw. The small pale body fell onto the roof top with a thud.

"Body part. Body part," Dick felt his feverishly dry lips move slightly, mouthing the words as his fists brought themselves down onto young body, "Body part." They ALL have to go! Each and every one…

"Ahhhhhhh!" The young boy coughed and spat blood when he screamed as the Red X claws gripped around his bicep and then began to pull as if they were trying to separate it from his shoulder. Never ending tears streamed out of the boy's swollen eyes, "AHHHHHAHAHAHHHH!" The boy's shoulder joint began to make a popping noise.

"Dick…don't…" A woman's gentle whisper suddenly cleared the mayhem crowding Dick's head. Like that, his mind was suddenly shrouded in a serene darkness. Dick blinked, his hands stopped pulling for a moment. Who was that? It was like the voice was coming from inside his--.

Shooof! Chink! Releasing the boy's arm, Dick caught the long ninja dart coming towards the side of his head. He shot his head up just in time to see the dark cowl with red eyes running at him. Ravager…you followed me? You've been watching me?

The Ravager was surprisingly just as fast as Dick in the Red X suit and managed to knock Dick in a tackle like motion over the edge of the building. At the moment of impact, the radio in Dick's ear popped loudly and then went silent. Sailing over the side of the building, an incapacitating amount of exhaustion suddenly washed over him. It as if the sudden halt in motion had allowed it to finally catch up with him. Dick felt his body grow limp as he fell headlong towards pavement below. With each windy second, the Ravager's figure at the top of WayneTech grew smaller and smaller.

Raven…why can't I just die? The thought entered the darkness in his mind, though he didn't know what it meant.

As the frigid air whistled past him, the aching warmth in his arms and legs grew heavy in his shoulders. Then, as if releasing great pressure the pain burst and violently sprayed out of his spine. Cherry red feathers suddenly filled the sky as the Xynothium wings broke out of the outer fabric of the suit and caught an updraft. The next thing Dick knew, he was soaring above WayneTech looking down at the four ants of figures on the roof.

"Interesting…" the Ravager mused to himself as crimson feathers swirled down around him, "you chose the angelic wings of a bird instead of the demonic wings of the bat that created you…"

After watching the moonlit silhouette of the Red X suit disappear, the Ravager glanced at Batgirl who had been shouting at him for assistance for quite some time. With a forced smile on his face he backed off the edge of the building and disappeared into the night.

------------------------------------------

(The next night…)

"How's he doing today, Barbara?" Bruce appeared behind her. She glanced at the boy moaning in his sleep. She patted him on the head and motioned for Bruce to follow her out of Jason's room.

Quietly shutting the door behind them she said, "Better. The doc said his arm will be ok in no time. He's a strong kid, Bruce. Still," Barbara wrapped her arm around the battered Batman and helped him limp down the hall back to his room, "I think that we should have taken him and you to the hospital instead of having that doctor you saved last year treat you two here at the manor."

"You know we can't do that."

"Bruce, this is crazy! This is the reason why I hated the idea of making him Robin. Jason is just a boy! He almost died last night! All just because you don't want to apologize to Dick or admit that you miss him."

Bruce pushed off Barbara's hand and took a couple small steps ahead of her and stopped, "Are we really talking about me here?" He looked back at her, the white bandage tied around his head lighting up in the moonlight that came in from the windows, "Because I don't think I'm the one here who misses Dick." Barbara's eyes grew large as Batman continued, "nor do I think I have anything to apologize for," he caught Barbara's open hand on its way to slap him across the face and held it firm, "If anything, he should apologize. Are you so blinded by the past that you are willing to forgive him for trying to kill us last night?" Letting go of her hand he turned back around, a seething anger in his eyes, "He's not Robin anymore, Barbara."

Clang! Clang! Clang! Before Barbara could wrench her arm free and say anything back to the bitter man a commotion came from the Bat Cave.

"Alfred!" As quickly as they could, the two reached the bottom of the staircase just in time to catch the fainting butler, a silver tea set and tray littering the floor, "Are you alright?" Barbara propped the old man up.

"I'm sorry, Master Bruce," the elderly man nodded sleepily, "I was on my way up but then…I saw…"

A look of astonishment washed over both Batman and Batgirl as their eyes focused on the site before them. Hungry plumes of orange and yellow flames engulfed the several Robin suits hanging together in the crystal case in front of them. The once flowing fabric was quickly blistering and turning a dark, ashen black as the fire rapidly lapped up the length of the costume. Large spidery cracks littered the sides of the glass as it began to facture with the sweltering heat. The sprinkler system tube connected to the blazing glass case had been roughly bent and severed. Cool water glopped out of it, across the stone floor towards them. A large, melting Xynothium "X" sagged across the middle of the fracturing case.

"Dick…" Barbra whispered with sad eyes. As if on cue, the cave's main sprinkler system switched on. Sheets of water like rain doused everything except for the inferno shielded within the glass case.

The "R" patch on the Robin suit withered and fell into the growing pyre burning bright at the foot of the wardrobe.

"Robin…" Bruce clenched his free hand into a fist until it shook.

------------------------------------------

Slade paced back and forth in his secret command center behind his study. Despite his attempts to reestablish radio contact with the Red X suit, he hadn't heard from Dick in 48 hours. Perhaps he had introduced Dick to the suit a bit prematurely. Maybe he shouldn't have granted the young man such open freedom so soon. Was he growing soft? He slammed his fist down on the computer console at the very idea that he had been so blinded by Dick's delicate body and athletic perfection to have let him loose so early in the process. He should have known better. Over and over, Slade swore to himself that if Dick returned he would be firmer and that situations like this would never arise again.

"Sir," Wintergreen's fizzled over the in house intercom to Slade's right, "If you would come to the library balcony, there is something you need to see."

Slade reached the balcony just in time to see Dick approach the estate from the sky.

"Amazing," split-masked man's blue grey eye gleamed as they traced over Dick's angelic silhouette.

The instant his foot touched the edge of the stone balcony the Xynothium rendered wings disappeared in a flourish of glossy, red feathers. When the flurry of feathers cleared away, Slade looked down to find Dick kneeling at his feet, the bone white mask folded neatly to his right.

"Sir," Robin spoke to the sandy white tiles of the balcony, "F—"

Pah! Wham! Before Dick could even begin his sentence Slade struck him; first across the face, then all over; each blow increasing in intensity. Crack! Somehow, throughout the beating Dick remained silent except for noises that escaped his lungs when the wind was knocked out of him. Never uttering a single word, Dick would shakily prop himself back up onto his knees, eyes down cast or calmly closed, ready to be receive whatever he deserved.

"Never," a thick vein in Slade's neck quivered with rage, "Never disobey me, again! That was a direct order, Dick! And what's more? You deliberately abused the power and freedom I have so generously granted you." He raised his hand to strike the submissive young man again.

"Forgive me, Sir," Dick mumbled past a swelling cheek, "I—"

Pow! Dick kept his head turned, his eyes glued to the floor, after the punch and continued speaking, "I'm sorry that I did not return right away, but I was busy picking up these." He reached into a pocket on his belt and produced 3 different colored computer chips; one red, the other green, and the last blue. "Forgive me, Sir, but I hacked into your computer system with the Red X suit arm console and found these schematics. I then located them and stole them from the proper government and WayneTech facilities using the Red X suit. I know that these cannot fully repay you, but," Dick set the chips on the ground in a neat row in front of him then bowed deeply, pressing his forehead against the stone tiles, "I beg of you Sir, Master, please make me your apprentice."

Finishing his plea, Dick readied himself for the rest of his beating. When he heard Slade come close to his body he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth. However instead of another blow, Dick felt the tingling sensation of Slade's gloved fingers running themselves through his hair. Though Dick could see nothing but the cracks between the stone tiles directly under him he knew Slide was smiling wolfishly under that steel mask.