Beyond Incredible
Connections

Sometimes Raven cursed her gift of empathy.

Today was one of those days.

She definitely felt the feeling of despair wafting over Robin, a feeling she'd sensed before from the other teen – although at the time they were preteens. In the past, she'd sit and talk to him about how he felt, and she left him to vent all of his frustrations. Looking back at the way he put on a rather large grin, let alone put on an attitude of goofing off – something told her he'd come up with different methods of coping with the darkness which welled up in him, yet she – who was currently a stranger, couldn't offer up words of encouragement.

She was right about her mentor actually knowing Robin, which wasn't surprising given the fact they were both from lives that could have easily crossed paths. Stage magicians, as was Zatanna and her father's day time gigs which paid for the actual bills, did perform in circuses, yet she'd definitely seen memories of the Grayson family, something she'd only picked up off of one other person – Robin, who was now falling into the pit of despair he usually did when he thought about his broken family.

She'd never picked up on those memories from Slade, but then Slade was definitely a jumbled mess. How she picked up on the name John – that he was John Grayson, she didn't know, as she didn't feel Robin would have communicated such a thing to her, not when he considered her such a stranger. Looking at Slade, how he held Robin, not really caring about the boy's safety – this wasn't the John she knew from Robin's memories.

In fact, she wondered if he actually remembered any of the things Robin did about their time growing up.

"Raven."

Zatanna's voice echoed through her head, yet the realization of where she'd heard the name used – who had used it utilizing her ability to mentally communicate. She turned, looking at her mentor. "Why did you tell me who Slade is?"

"Don't you know Robin. That's why you said I likely knew him earlier, but you knew it might do him some good having someone from his past in his life."

"Yeah, well, not like this. Not..." She heard a gust of wind and saw Kid Flash hurry over. The young speedster's facial features twisted in worry, seeing Robin like that, clutched in a headlock by Slade in what could only be described as a very threatening manner. Yet, she also picked up on the fact Kid Flash was freaking out regarding the way Robin acted; Robin, after all, was fearless.

"What the..." Kid Flash pointed at Slade. "Put him down!"

"No. He's coming..."

"Raven. Connect me to Slade's mind!"

Raven heard her mentor, her eyes blinking in confusion. Thinking back, there was another likely reason why Slade was never someone she could read, which in turn frightened her slightly, but feeling meant her powers might go haywire in an unexpected manner. In fact, she felt her shadows flicker with the slight rise of her emotions while she thought about how Slade often used Robin's.

"Raven. Connect me to his mind now, before he takes off with Robin!"

"Yes." Raven hated introducing upon Slade's mind, even felt nasty doing so. She winced, feeling the darkness in the man's mind, meaning this wasn't a robot for once, yet also feeling how broken it was. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she instinctively didn't venture into his mind for that reason, yet she remained connected to Robin, making the three-way conversation now four-way, leaving Kid Flash out of the loop.

Of course,e Slade reacted to her intrusion. "What the hell! Get out of my head, you witch."

"Oh. Are you going to play up to the stereotype that Roma are all superstitious then?"

"Raven!" Zatanna sent her a look, before turning her attention back to Slade. "John..."

"Get out of my head!"

Kid Flash swallowed. "Look, going into someone's mind..."

"I asked her, but I have my reasons." Zatanna piped up, her eyes narrowed, stepping forward. "John, I want you to listen to me."

"Get away! Get away from me!"

"Guys, I think you're making the situation worse – much worse." Kid Flash hurried over, tugging on Raven's cape, much to her annoyance.

"He's annoying me Zatanna, so do something."

"He's right. You're making the situation worse."

"Oh, so you recognize who Robin is, but not me?" The look on Zatanna's face – Raven remembered being on the wrong side of that glare, one which could easily compare to one of Batman's. Her mentor didn't put up with any nonsense, though Raven rarely if ever did. She did receive a lecture about relying on others when she needed help when she first got there, which related to the incident with her father. Of course, Robin gave her a similar lecture.

"Recognize you..." Slade faltered, looking at her, yet Raven couldn't read his facial expression. She could sense recognition kicking in. "Anna."

"Yes, I'm Anna, but I never thought I'd ever be this disappointed in you, John."

Raven glanced over at Kid Flash, feeling he might be right about Zatanna making things worse, but the look on his face. "Oh great. You actually agree with me that she's making it worse."

"I did not."

"You gave me..."

"Shut up you two."

"Woah, this can not be a good situation." Yet another person intruded upon the scene, making Raven realize that the others likely finished with Slade's goons and were showing up. This girl – Wonder Girl, Raven couldn't place how she felt about the girl's presence, but from what she sensed, nobody including the leader of Robin's current team could figure out how they felt regarding the outsider.

"Disappointed in me. As if that even matters."

"I guess I should just give the ring back."

Raven facepalmed. "Okay. I don't think it's time to be discussing that of all things." Particularly since hearing those words made her feel emotion, which in turn affected her powers.

"OR maybe I should give the ring to Robin so he can use it. It's what I would have done if I'd known before now that he was alive, given the fact I was under the impression you were dead. After all, isn't it a family heirloom?"

"Guys. I agree with Raven. Plus, that's a rather – embarrassing subject us kids don't want to hear."

She wanted to laugh. She wanted to laugh at the fact Robin was squirming at the conversation. She wanted to feel glad he was starting to come out of his dark funk because of the conversation unfolding in front of him, yet she knew he was still majorly stressed given the entire situation.

"Here's the real point. Don't you think your actions make you a disappointment to little bird here?"

"What does that matter?" Slade, of course, didn't want to use the communication link Raven set up.

"Okay. I'm guessing there is some kind of mental connection going on – a rather bizarre one?" Wonder Girl folded her arms. "Which means we can't predict what is going to happen, right?"

"That's the last thing we need. Why are you forming a separate mental connection?" Aqualad piped up in her head.

"She's what?"

"Do you guys really want Robin's identity given away!"

Wonder Girl shrugged her shoulders. "Well, that makes sense."

"You're strong, like Wonder Woman."

Wonder Girl looked at Kid Flash, glaring. "Look, I'm going to see how this plays out before jumping into the mess, alright? I suggest you do as well."

"I'm in agreement with her, but Superboy, Cyborg, and I will be there as soon as possible and I'll take in the situation personally."

Raven sighed, sending a message to Zatanna privately. "You might want to hurry up. The others are getting antsy."

"Well, John. Are you telling me I'm wrong for believing you never wanted to be a disappointment to him?"

"Batman took him away."

"What..." Of course, Aqualad's group wasn't that far away, making Raven mentally curse, or perhaps he was able to get their faster, given the way the ground was smashed from where he landed. "What is he talking about?"

"Wait?" Kid Flash pointed at the man. "He knows Robin's secret identity? Batman's going to kill..."

"No, he's not."

"Well, not figuratively as he's got the no-kill policy, but..."

"KF. Stop." Robin narrowed his eyes. "KF knows my identity, whoever you are, so let him in on the conversation."

"Oh." Raven sent another private message. "Robin says you know his secret identity, which means you would actually be aware of who Slade is."

"What?" Kid Flash gave her a rather dirty look.

"This Slade is the apprentice of the other Slade, but the person he really is, he's actually John Grayson."

"His father or his cousin?"

"His cousin."

"Oh, god. That explains a lot."

"I'm not following." Superboy looked over at Kid Flash, his confusion growing.

"But what does..."

"Apparently Zatanna was John Grayson's fiancé." She found Kid Flash facepalming himself very amusing.

"Well, I'm..."

"Another is in on this conversation?"

"Yeah, well I know Robin's identity and Dick Grayson – he's my best friend, so I'm going to tell you that you don't have his best interests in mind, wanting him to become some kind of apprentice to an assassin like you, but you're so not talking – no, acting like the John Grayson he's always told me about, the John Grayson he's proud of. So, you've got the choice today of either being the person he wants you to be, or being his worst nightmare."

"Thank you," Robin said. "Please, listen to what KF said. This isn't you, but you need help. More specifically..." He switched to the mental connection. "Anna and I want you in our lives, just not the way you are. And, I'm scared of who you've become. I'm afraid of you, something I never wanted to be. So please..."

Slowly, Slade started letting go, which was when Wonder Girl reacted. She moved quickly, jumping down so she was right in front of Slade, taking advantage of the fact Slade let go of Robin, pulling him away before – well, she punched him in the face knocking him out cold. Raven watched Zatanna, Kid Flash, and Robin look on in disbelief while Cyborg and Aqualad showed up.

"Woah. Did you just take out Slade? Robin – he is okay."

"Why did..."

"Look, I don't know what kind of conversation you guys were having privately, but this resolved the current situation and you're safe. Goodness knows my mentor would have had a field day if I'd not stepped in, but if we kept at this too long the other adults might have gotten involved.