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Dick didn't get a chance to tell Bruce what all happened with Senator Roberts and Deathstroke. When he arrived at the Batcave last night, Alfred informed him that Bruce had gone out on patrol hours ago. He quickly started to get ready to join him, but it was already nearing three in the morning and he had school the next day. Bruce also usually returned around three anyways. So he changed, showered and headed straight to bed. He passed out as soon as he hit his mattress. He didn't even hear Bruce come home later that evening. Or morning, however you wanted to put it.

When Dick woke up that morning and went down for breakfast, Bruce wasn't down there. Alfred told him that Bruce had an early morning meeting that included a conference call with someone in a different time zone. It was rare, but not unheard of. And after Dick was done with school, he headed home to get into his Robin uniform before going straight to Mount Justice. Bruce had still been at work. The strange thing about all of this was that the billionaire hadn't so much as sent Dick a text. The acrobat sent him a text, letting him know where he was, but Bruce usually sent him some sort of confirmation response. Assuming that he was just busy, Dick didn't really question it.

Not long after he arrived, he, Wally, Artemis, Kaldur, M'gann and Conner headed to the training room where Black Canary was waiting for them. However, an hour into their normal two-hour training session, Canary informed them that Batman had arrived and wanted to see them. So they all made their way to the computer room where he was waiting.

"Hey Batman." Robin greeted as he and his teammates walked into the 'mission room'.

"Why were you looking into Deathstroke?" Batman immediately asked before they had all even fall into an official lineup. His words and harsh tone stunned the others, even Dick, but he had grown used to it over the years and quickly realized how Bruce found out about his short search into the assassin.

"You got a notification." Dick said as he nodded his head, already knowing the answer.

"Yes I did." Batman confirmed, his eyes focusing on the youngest member of the Team.

"It turns out, he was the man trying to kill Senator Roberts and is most likely the man who killed the other Justice League allies." Kaldur joined the conversation with his monotone voice.

"How do you know?" Batman questioned, turning his gaze to the Team's leader.

"Well, we caught him." Wally answered, then shrugged and added, "Kind of."

Seeing the questioning look on his face, M'gann explained, "We were shadowing the senator and Deathstroke showed up. Robin fought him briefly before he vanished."

"What?" Batman practically growled before taking a step closer to his protégé. "Were you hurt?"

"No. It didn't even last three minutes." Dick replied with a reassuring smile. Apparently he wasn't reassuring enough because Batman took another step closer to him, as if he was going to check him over for injuries right here and now. However, Dick continued to smile and said, "I'm fine B."

Batman still looked at him, but his attention was drawn back to Kaldur when he said, "We've tried looking into Deathstroke to see if we can find a connection between him and the Light as we are unsure if he is the one who killed the allies or if this was an isolated event but the files are locked."

"Give me all the information you have found. The League and I will take it from here." Batman ordered and moved to leave the room.

"Wait what?" Artemis questioned, completely confused though anger was starting to grow underneath it.

"But Batman," Dick started to protest before Batman cut him off.

"You all did a good job, but this is now getting too dangerous. The League will take it from here." Without giving them a chance to respond, the Dark Knight swept out of the room.

As soon as he was gone, Artemis exclaimed with a furious tone, "He's such an a**."

"Artemis." M'gann gasped in shock. Though she had heard people swear a lot during her time on earth, and occasionally it came from her friends, she still thought that swears were extremely rude and unneeded. It didn't help that it reminded her of the insults she would be called on Mars.

"What? He is." Artemis responded.

"At the very least, he is extremely frustrating." Conner spoke up. When they all turned to look at him, he added, "I mean, giving us a case then taking it away from us while basically saying we are too weak to handle it? Haven't we proven how strong we are?"

Normally, whenever Dick would hear someone insult his mentor, he'd jump to his defense, but not this time. This time, he agreed with Conner and Artemis. Back when he first started going out as Robin, Bruce overprotective but wasn't blind to Dick's abilities. For the first little bit, that grew to the point they would split up on patrol, then it suddenly stopped. Bruce became even more protective, especially when he, Wally, Kaldur and Conner started the Team. It really felt like Bruce had thought he was still nine years old and needed someone to hold his hand.

"I'll try talking to him tonight, see what's going on." Dick told him.

"And if that doesn't work?" Wally asked with a frown. Though he knew that the only people who could probably get through to Bruce would be Dick, Alfred and possibly Clark, Bruce was still extremely stubborn. According to Dick, there were times Bruce would purposely do something that was stupid or unnecessary just to prove a point or simply because someone told him that he shouldn't. A trait that Wally was starting to see in Dick actually.

Dick opened his mouth to respond, but then heard Batman call out, "Robin," from the hall. It was apparently time for him to head home.

"I'll talk to you guys later." Dick said to the others, then made his way out of the room towards his mentor.

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Neither Dick nor Bruce said anything as they left the Mountain and got in the Batmobile Bruce had parked near one of the zeta tubes. Dick thought it was a little strange that they didn't zeta straight to the Batcave, but Dick figured that they were just going to start patrol early or something. Maybe that had been the plan, but the young teenager soon realized that Bruce was driving back to the Batcave. And from the way he was holding the wheel and the way he was sitting, it was clear he was furious. Despite knowing that he wouldn't be the first to speak, Dick also stayed quiet. He was mad too. However, as the opening to the Cave came closer, Dick couldn't take the silence any longer.

"You're mad." Dick stated as the Batmobile pulled into in the entrance.

"Why didn't you say anything about Deathstroke last night?" Bruce questioned, driving to the platform where the Batmobile was usually parked.

"You were out on patrol really late last night and I had school. And nothing major happened." Dick reminded him.

Reaching the platform, Bruce put the car in park as he said, "You could've been hurt."

"Seriously? What does the Team, what do I, have to do to show you that we know what we're doing? You keep acting like we are five-year olds' who have to be watched. We're not weak like you seem to think. I've been doing this since I was 9." Dick told him as they both climbed out of the car.

"The agreement of the Team being created was that you report to the League and you didn't do that." Bruce replied, walking over to the computer, ignoring Alfred who was standing near the stairs watching them.

"We just did today!" Dick shouted, his voice echoing throughout the Cave.

Bruce turned around and shouted louder, "You should've done it immediately!"

"Why are you freaking out about this?" Dick asked in a calmer, quieter tone. Whenever their fights escalated to screaming matches, it ended with them storming off and not talking for a few days and Dick didn't want to do that.

Seeing what his son was doing, Bruce also tried to calm down as he said, "Deathstroke isn't like the people you and your friends go up against Dick. He's dangerous."

"So is the Joker, and Two-Face, and Scarecrow, and Bane. You don't have a problem with me going up against them." Dick pointed out.

"The difference is you are with me when you fight them."

"Not always." Dick responded. Sighing, he walked a little closer to Bruce and continued, "Come on B. Me and the Team even fought you and the League and were successful."

Bruce also sighed, and crossed the distance between them. Putting a hand on his shoulder, he said, "Dick, you and your friends will let me and the League take over. You all were only supposed to find proof that someone, that the Light, were taking out our allies and you did that. Your mission, is over."

Dick glares at him and makes like he's about to continue arguing, but stops himself. He must've realized that Bruce wasn't going to budge on this. That didn't mean he was happy about it though. The teenager crossed his arms and turned his head to the side angrily. Bruce let out a frustrated sigh and tried to figure out a way to calm his protégé down.

"Look. You and your teammates did a good job protecting Senator Roberts. But since Deathstroke wasn't able to kill him, he is most likely going to try again. Your new mission will be to protect him. However, you will leave the search for Deathstroke to me. And if any of you spot Deathstroke again, I want to be notified immediately. Understood?" Bruce told him, putting a hand under Dick's chin to lift his head so he could look him in the eyes.

"Fine." Dick very reluctantly agreed.

Patting him on the shoulder, Bruce said, "Good. Now go clean yourself up and finish your homework. We still have to patrol tonight."

Dick glared at him, but wordlessly stalked off to the showers. It seemed a bit weird to shower and change if he was just going to change back into his Robin uniform in a few hours, but Alfred was very strict on the 'no uniforms in the Manor' rule. Plus, he could probably use a shower after the Team's training session. Shifting, Bruce made to go to the computer, but paused when he saw Alfred standing off to the side, staring at him with an unimpressed look.

"What?"

"I said nothing sir." The butler replied, moving to clean one of the shelves even though it was already clean.

"I'm just trying to keep him safe Alfred." Bruce said, knowing exactly what the man who raised him was thinking.

"Perhaps you should have thought of that before you trained him." Alfred suggested, not looking at the billionaire.

"And let him go off alone without backup or training?" Bruce questioned, remembering how he'd see Dick out on the streets at night not only while he was still in the juvenile detention center, but also during the first few weeks he was at the Manor before Bruce told him that he was Batman.

Turning around, Alfred said, "Master Bruce, you cannot train and encourage him one moment and the next say that he is unprepared and unable to handle what he's been trained for. I know you want to protect him, but you will not be able to do that forever."

"I know, but I can do it now." Bruce argued, then looked over at the showers where Dick and promised, "And I will."

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After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Dick headed up to his room. He didn't start on his homework though. Instead, he grabbed his civilian phone and called Wally. Because of Bruce's orders to keep his identity secret, there were very few people Dick could really complain about Bruce to. Especially depending on the situation. In fact, there were actually only five people. Alfred, Clark, Barbara, Roy and Wally. Given that Bruce considered this situation was a matter of safety, Dick knew that Alfred and Clark would side with Bruce. Barbara was still very new to the superhero business and didn't know much about the Team, and Roy barely even answered his phone nowadays as he continued to search for the real Roy Harper. So that left Wally.

"You know, I think I know him, I think we've got a great understanding of each other, then he goes around and does this. I mean, I kind of get where he's coming from, but he keeps acting like I'm a little kid. I've been doing this almost as long as he has." Dick ranted, flopping down dramatically on his bed.

"It really is annoying but I mean, I get it too. You and I are probably the only ones whose mentors are related to us and are extremely active in the League. They worry more than the others." Wally responded, the sound of his voice followed by a munching noise, because of course he would be eating.

"I know. It's just…" Dick bit back his urge to scream in frustration before he asked, "How long is it going to be before they see us as equals?"

"Probably when we turn 30 or something." Wally joked with a muffled voice, clearly speaking with a mouth full of food.

Dick turned onto his side and stared at the window. It was cloudy, like always, and was starting to rain. Shifting again to lay on his back, his eyes landed on his Flying Graysons poster hanging over his bed. His eyes locking on it, he quietly said, "You know, when I was in the circus, my parents never made me feel like I wasn't equal to them despite how young I was."

"Difference is, you weren't fighting crime with them." Wally pointed out.

"The job was still dangerous." Dick reminded him, trying to keep the images of the dead bodies of his family from flashing before his eyes.

"I know." Wally replied, his voice practically a whisper. Sensing the need for a change of subject, he asked, "Has Bruce said anything yet about when you can tell the Team your real identity?"

"Nope. Even when I pointed out that Roy, who was a mole for the Light, knows my identity, he shut down the conversation."

"Maybe you should just tell them when he's not there or something. You're at the Mountain a lot without him. He doesn't have to know."

"It's not just my identity that will be exposed though if I do that. And while the public loves Superman and the Flash, they don't all like Batman." Dick explained, then glanced at the clock and added, "I got to go. Still have some homework to finish before patrol. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow dude." Wally said, then hung up the phone. Dick took another look at his family poster, then headed over to his desk. The last thing he needed was Bruce benching him because he didn't do his homework or his grades were slipping. Maybe while out on patrol he could try and talk to Bruce again about being let in on the hunt for Deathstroke.

AN – Hope you guys liked this chapter! See you all on Monday!