Little One, Little Danger
A/N: We've finally made it to the final chapter and it's taken me 12 years to finish this story. I just want to thank all who are fans of this fanfiction and have made it my most popular one I have ever written. This chapter won't be as long as the rest but it will wrap the story up with a final heartfelt touch. So enjoy!
Chapter 28: Remnants of Hope
Robin opened his eyes to see the alarm clock on his nightstand read the time of 7:45am. He rolled over onto his back and looked up at the ceiling above. Something inside of him felt uneasy and strange, but he didn't know why exactly. The evening before they had just defeated Mumbo and a handful of the magicians thugs, who were dressed as clowns. Even the thought of it caused Robin to shake his head because of how ridiculous some of their villans have been lately. Though, no matter how idiotic they were, they still posed a threat to the city and to their team. Especially after one of those clowns threw Raven off of a roof...
"Raven..." Robin quickly sat up in his bed and realized that he wanted to take her some pain killers this morning.
He quickly got dressed in his uniform and grabbed his mask off the dresser. Robin looked at himself in a mirror that hung just beside his bedroom door. Something in him felt different but as he stared at his reflection, all he saw was the same old boy wonder who was the leader of the Teen Titans.
{scene change}
Robin had just left Raven's room after quietly sneaking in and placing a bottle of pain killers on her dresser. Beastboy and Cyborg could be heard making commotion in the kitchen about what to have for breakfast; he couldn't help but roll his eyes. The leader went in there and sorted out the two teens' differences on what to prepare so that he could take breakfast to Raven. After that was done and dealt with, Robin sat on the couch and waited for Cyborg to cook up a good breakfast since BB would be cooking for himself. Robin rested the back of his head on the edge of the couch and looked up at the ceiling; the day felt familiar somehow.
He was getting a weird vibe of dejavu along with a strong feeling of concern for Raven's well-being. The girl was strong and he never really had to worry about her before, so why now? Is it becaue he feels like her being thrown off the building in the first place was his fault because he is indeed the team leader? That must be it, he reasoned with himself.
"Yo Robin!" Cyborg called from the kitchen to indicate that Raven's breakfast plate was ready.
{scene change}
Raven opened her eyes and lifted herself up in her bed, but as she did so, her head started throbbing in pain. She wondered what happened last night, though not for long because she remembered that they took down Mumbo and some clowns. It was clowns...wasn't it? She thought to herself a little unsure. Looking around the room, she noticed she was alone and decided to pull back her bed covers revealing pajamas. Her left eye twitched because she couldn't remember everything after passing out yesterday and she knew she didn't change.
Suddenly her room door opened, "Come on in Robin.", she said sarcasticlly.
The leader walked in, "How'd you know it was me?"
"Because...", Raven stopped and thought about it. Haven't they done this before? She looked at him and held back to show any emotion of being confused. "Is that for me?", a flash of dejavu hit her.
"Yeah! Thought I'd bring you breakfast. Figured..."
"I'd be bushed." Raven nodded.
"Yeah...?" The two suddenly felt uneasy because there was a weird vibe happening that neither one of them could pinpoint. Silence came over them and Robin let out a nervous chuckle as he placed the tray of food down on her bed. He slowly walked back to her door and then remembered, "Oh!"
"Pain killers are on my dresser." She then cursed under her breath for finishing his sentence for the second time.
"R-Right." Sweat dripped down the right side of his face as he backed out of the room ever so slowly. Raven raised one of her eyebrows and the thought crossed her mind that Robin might be a little weirder than she was.
{scene jump}
Robin walked around the grocery store pushing a basket, a little aggravated that moments ago, Beastboy and Cyborg teased him about it. It wasn't really the source of his aggravation, because they tend to always clown around like that, but even that moment with them felt a little off. His thoughts kept replaying the events of yesterday and today, trying to make sense of what was going on with him. Suddenly his basket collided with another's and he didn't realize that he zoned out to a point where he wasn't paying attention to where he was going.
"I'm so sorry about that!" He apologized to a teen girl about his age.
"Oh! No worries. Hey! You're one of the Teen Titans right?!"
"Yeah, I'm Robin."
"Karen. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand out to shake his.
Robin hesitated at first because the name sounded so familiar, but then he shook her hand, "Yeah, nice to meet you. Well I should be on my way now."
"O-Oh...okay. Don't work too hard hero." The girl awkwardly waved goodbye as he walked away to head to the cereal aisle.
{scene change}
Raven had showered and dressed before walking out into the tower's living room to find decorations hanging every where. Cyborg was holding his hand over Beastboy's mouth trying to explain something to Starfire in an idiotic manner.
"Is it the birth of Tamaran already?"
"Friend Raven!" Starfire flew over to her and gave her a big hug, "Yes! Yes it is!"
Cyborg looked at her confused, "How'd you know that? You got a Tamaranian calander or something?"
"Lucky guess." Raven shrugged it off.
The other three members of her team started to converse again and Cyborg made a comment towards Raven about being out of bed and needing rest. She let him know that she was feeling slightly better, not really wanting to go back to bed. After about 20 minutes, plates and food were all set and Cyborg had set the radio volume on full blast which instantly made Raven regret sticking around. Suddenly the front door opened revealing Robin who was struggling to carry every single grocery bag from the store. The team laughed and Raven just smirked as Robin scolded them for not giving him a hand. She then used her powers to lift the bags, that somehow got entangled in his arms, and placed them on the kitchen counter.
"Thanks Raven."
"No problem grocery boy.", her comment just caused the other teammates to roar in laughter even more and Robin just rolled his eyes.
Robin then noticed the decorations, "Birth of Tamaran?"
"Yes!" Starfire jumped and embraced him to a point where he could barely breathe. Quickly realizing this the girl let him go while blushing and apologizing.
"Alright you two break it up! It's party time!" Cyborg shouted as he started to dance in the middle of the living room floor.
{scene change}
After 2 and a half hours of partying, eating and playing an, almost innocent, game of 'Truth or Dare', Cyborg stood up to get a soda from the kitchen. It was Robin's turn within the game and he dared Raven to do something when suddenly the doorbell rang. The chime set off something in Robin as flashes of a little girl that resembled him ran repeatedly through his mind. "I got it!" he heard Cyborg yell from the kitchen, but something within him just made him jump up and run to the door. Robin nearly knocked Cyborg over as he ran past him and grasped the door knob, but hesitated in answering the door.
"What is wrong with me?", he thought. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and then gave the knob a turn. Robin didn't know what to expect on the other side of the door but he guess what waited on the other side shouldn't have surprised him.
"Pizza delivery for a Mr Cyborg." an acne faced teenager who worked at the pizza restaurant held a dumb look on his face.
"Cyborg, it's for you." Robin said as he walked away from the door feeling a little let down. Cyborg made his way to the door and told Robin he knew that the person at the door would be the pizza delivery man. The Titan's leader realized that he knew that because he heard Cyborg on the phone earlier ordering pizza. As he walked back to the living room he saw Raven stand up and head in the direction of her room.
1 hour later
Robin sat on the roof's edge of Titan's Tower letting his legs hang. He'd temporarily left the party to get some fresh air and to go over a few thoughts in his head. There was just a feeling he couldn't shake off and with his personality, there was no way he was just going to let it go without knowing what it was. The flashes he had, became alot clearer and somehow he could makes a little sense out of all the chaos.
"Didn't think I'd see you up here."
Robin quickly turned around to see Raven standing a few feet away from him, "You almsot gave me a heart attack!"
"A bit dramatic aren't you?", she raised her eyebrow at him.
The teen held his chest to settle the rapid beating of his heart, "Just give me a second." Raven rolled her eyes as he stood up to face her, "Out to get some fresh air too?"
"I'm usually the first to head out from the festivities. What's your deal?", she spoke in her usual monotone voice.
"Just had to get some fresh air. There's nothing wrong with that is there?" He turned to look ever at the city lights miles away.
The girl walked up beside him and looked at the view as well, "No, but don't forget that I'm the loner of the team. So no switching roles."
Her comment made him slightly chuckle; was she really making a joke? Robin looked at her from the corner of his eye and noticed that her face didn't flinch once; same old Raven. The two stood in a surprisingly comfortable silence, letting the wind blow over them causing their capes to rustle.
"Seriously, are you ok?"
Robin turned to look at her, "Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Just ask me, don't use telepathy.", he whined.
Raven rolled her eyes and sighed, "Well...?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "I think I am. Nothing the fearless leader can't bounce back from right?"
"If you say so boy wonder."
"Just one of those...hero moments in life.", the tone in his voice softened which grasped Raven's attention. "What does Robin stand for? Who does the man behind the mask stand for? I know Bruce always says I have to find out the answer for myself but..."
"They're you Robin." He turned to look at Raven who didn't even budge to turn to him, "You live on mostly through Robin at the moment but that's only because you haven't matured to the point of accepting the person beneath the mask."
Robin narrowed his eyes at her because she basically called him immature. But he couldn't argue with the fact that she was absolutely right and he knew that he didn't have to tell her that because she knew already.
"Maybe we'll all get to meet Richard 'Dick' Grayson."
His heart ached when she said his real name, "Just Richard is fine."
"No, I think Dick suits you much better."
Robin couldn't help but burst into laughter which lasted almost a minute until he collected himself together, "That's not cool." He turned to look back out at the view with Raven, "What about...Raiden?"
Raven finally turned to look at him with a confused expression, "For you?"
"No, not for me. Just uh...just a name in general.", he hunched his shoulders.
She turned away from him and for some reason decided to think about it, maybe to entertain him, "Raiden's an okay name. Simple, delicate and mysterious. Probably suited for a young girl." Raven's heart nearly skipped a beat from her own comment. She shook the feeling off and decided she was ready to go to her room, "Well, I guess I'll turn in for the night."
As she turned to walk away, Robin stopped her in her tracks, "Hey! Uh...you're going to a book signing in a few days right?"
"How'd you know about that?" She turned to face him.
"Saw the flyer on your dresser when I dropped the pain killers off this morning."
"Uh huh...what about it?"
"Well...I'd figure you might want some company."
"I want the company?" She looked at him dumb-founded with a hint of agitation.
Robin chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his head, "Well I mean, I'd like to join you...i-if you don't mind that is."
"You want to come to a book signing..."
"It's you favorite author right."
"Yes...but you do know what genre of book it is."
"Y-Yeah...nothing wrong with expanding one's horizons and getting into new things. Especially those that my teammates are interested in." His voice softened as he gave her a smile.
Raven was slightly taken aback by the action, "You are serious...", Robin gave her a nod and all she could do is sigh and give a very slight smile, "Fine...but I doubt the others would be in."
"Oh I wouldn't dare put them through that. I'll take this one for the team. Just you and me, how's that sound?" Robin had walked up to her only inches away; Raven couldn't hold back the blush that came across her face.
"Fine. J-Just, pretend to not know me if you get cold feet and run off scared." She turned to walk away to the entrance of the Tower from the roof.
"I never get cold feet." He shouted out after her, "And you should smile more Rachel!" Raven stopped in her tracks but didn't turn around to face him, "It really is...a beautiful sight to see." Robin finished as a soft smile appeared upon his face. She still didn't turn around but she couldn't stop the soft smile that formed across her lips as she walked back into the Titan's Tower.
Robin turned back to look out at the city as he plopped himself back down ontop the roof. He laid back and looked up to see the stars in the evening sky; he closed his eyes.
"Daddy..."
{flashback}
"Daddy..." Raiden had appeared to him in his mind right before he blacked out. She held onto a figure of himself, his older self, "...Daddy it looks like we'll be able to stop the world from submerging, but I want to say I'm sorry for the consequences that are to follow." As she spoke, he couldn't help but go through all the memories he had of her, and the three of them together. "Daddy, I will cease to exist, but the force of the counter-measure will erase the time we've spent together as well. It will be like you all have never known me...like *sniff* we never were a family..." The teen had buried her head into his chest and all he could do was stroke her hair and reassure her that they would never forget about her. "There's only one thing I can do...with a small remnant of my power that's left, I can make sure that at least one of you keeps your memories. It has to be you Daddy...mama is in too much of a weakened state to handle it. You too will be drifting off into the darkness soon, but when you wake up, just give it some time for it all to come back to you."Raiden lifted up her head and looked Robin into his crystal blue eyes that matched her own. She stood up straight before releasing her embrace on him so she could levitate to his height. The teen moved closer to her father and rested her forehead upon his, "Please be strong and remember...I love you..."
{end of flashback}
Robin slowly opened his eyes as he removed his mask from upon his face; tears streaming down. He remembered...he remembered all of it and the day he had today finally all made sense to him. Robin couldn't help but smile which turned into laughter mixed with light sobbing. There was no way he could forget and he wouldn't let himself either, even if he was the only one who knew...that was more than enough. The Titan's leader knew who he was and who he wanted to become. It would not be created in some lab or fabricated with experiments...he'd make the path to his future and he was going to do it his way.
"First step...surviving a horrific book signing with Raven." he thougt to himself as he stood up shiviering and dusting himself off. Robin adjusted his mask back on after wiping away his tears and headed in the direction of the entrance to the tower, "Rachel Grayson...it does have a ring to it doesn't it.", he chuckled.
{scene jump}
Tokyo, Japan
A woman sat at a table alone in a cafe that morning, reading a novel upon a tablet device as the barista walked over to bring her drink. She smiled at the young man and thanked him before picking up the mug and taking a sip. There was no specific preference she had that morning and she told him to choose for her. Though after taking the sip, something came to mind, or rather someone came to mind. This drink was made specifically to her tastes and just the way she liked it...only one person knew what that was.
"Was it made alright?", the voice came before she got the chance to turn around.
When she did, she wasn't prepared to face the man that was standing before her, "B-Bruce...?"
"Hello Kida."
"How did you...?"
"Why don't we just take a walk?", he motioned for her to stand.
"W-Why would I...?" She turned away from him.
Bruce turned her face back to face him, "Kida...please..."
The woman sighed and agreed as he took her hand and lead them out of the cafe; the walked hand in hand down the sidewalk.
"You remember everything don't you?" He spoke without turning to face her.
"Of course I do, it was my doing to begin with. Question is, how do you remember everything." Kida smirked not turning to face him.
Bruce shrugged, "Strong willed I suppose."
Kida chuckled as she entertwined her fingers with his and he squeezed her hand. The two continued their walk and had a very long awaited chat that should've happened years ago.
The End
A/N: And that is the end of my story everyone! I thank everyone who's followed and read this story to the very end. Thank you so much for being dedicated fans of Little One, Little Danger and I apologize if these last 2 chapters went pretty fast. I had quite a few ideas of endings and just came up with a bittersweet feel of things. To all those RobRae fans, please do not think that this ending ruins the pairing for the two. I hope to have some of you check out my other fanfics and give feedback on either of them and also dish out ideas for any other fanfic. While this is indeed the final chapter of the story, I will be doing a short epilogue that might satisfy a few of you more than the ending. Until next time, happy reading and never give up on the fanfiction! ^_^