21:10 PDT

November 29th

Titans Tower, California

...

Gold.

His eyes were gold.

Dick couldn't believe what he was seeing. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, or he wasn't feeling as well as he thought. Anything to explain why his normally blue eyes were shining gold! It couldn't be natural. Eye colors don't change unless special contacts are applied or if the person was a meta, and he was certain he was human. The little voice in the back of his head whispering doubts about it could shut up.

Not wasting anymore time, Dick quickly stepped into the shower. The heat helped soothe his nerves and loosen his tight muscles. By the time he got out, his mood had improved drastically, and his mind relaxed. After wiping the steam off the mirror, he looked into the glass and was happy to see a familiar pair of blue eyes staring back at him.

Maybe it really was just a trick of the light or a hallucination from an overworked mind...

...

00:00 PDT

"I'm telling you Wally, this is a bad idea," Roy whispered just outside Robin's door, "You know that if he's asleep then the last thing we should do is wake him up."

The speedster gave him a look that read Duh, "If he's asleep then we'll just turn around and ask him in the morning. Now come on, stop being a wuss."

Neither of them made a move to enter the sleeping ninja's room. They were personally and painfully aware of what happens when you accidentally wake a sleeping Robin.

Roy snorted, "Ladies first."

Wally gasped dramatically before moving his hands in a sweeping motion, "Age before beauty."

The redheads glared at each other but were interrupted when the door slid open, and both of them were pulled inside as it slammed shut. Before them stood a maskless, irritated Dick Grayson.

"Do either of you have any idea what the word whisper is?"

"I thought your room was soundproof?"

Robin glared at the floor, "It is."

Kid Flash scrunched his face in confusion, "Then how did you—?"

"I don't know," Robin interrupted, voice clipped. Roy placed a hand on each of the two teens' shoulders and directed them to the bed.

"How about we sit down first? Then we can talk."

As the three former sidekicks sat down on the bed, Roy and Wally removed their masks. Obviously whatever the problem was, it was Dick who was dealing with it, not Robin. Sometimes they forgot the lengths their friend went through to ensure that his two identities were never linked.

"Raven explained what she could to us, but it wasn't much. Wanna give us your side?" the archer nudged.

Dick sat cross-legged and stared down at the crumpled blankets between he and his friends, "A few nights ago, I was out on solo patrol when I came across one of them. He knew my name—my real identity— middle name and all. Now that I think about it, he didn't call me 'Robin' once," Dick shuddered at the memory.

"Dude," Wally whistled. All of them knew what a big deal it was for someone to know a member of the batfamily outside of costume, "What else did he say?"

"My time as Talon has come. Prepare to serve. Be in Gotham in five days time or be hunted down. Farewell, Gray Son of Gotham," Dick repeated almost robotically.

"I sorta understand the be in Gotham part, but I gotta admit, I have no idea what the other stuff means."

Dick's mind unintentionally traveled back to the conversation he had with Batman and the facts his teammates had given him from their encounter with the Court's messenger. They were waiting for something. Star said the man told her he would face some sort of change whether or not they had had crossed paths. He was sick and could somehow hear through a soundproof door and put fist-sized dents in his metal bedroom walls...as well as take out seven thugs in the same amount of time it took Cyborg to choke down a triple cheeseburger.

The pieces were falling into place, but that didn't mean he had the full picture or that he even wanted to.

"Something's wrong with me," he spoke up after a long moment, "and I think this messenger knows what it all means but.."

"I know that look," Wally piped up, "You're in detective mode again. What are you thinking?"

"My time as Talon has come. The extended time limit to reach Gotham, even though I could make it there in a few hours, if necessary. Something about me facing a 'change,' and the fact that my entire system has been going haywire since that night on the roof. It's not exactly rocket science," he admitted, hugging his arms nervously.

"Did that guy inject you with something?" Roy asked. Dick shook his head.

"Nope. I'm clean, and earlier, when Raven tried to heal me after a..fainting spell," he didn't miss the dark, concerned looks they shot at him, "she said the reason she couldn't do it was because it was natural. What I don't get is how. I'm human. This shouldn't be happening, and I don't understand the reason why it is!"

He ended his speech in a rant, throwing his hands up in the air to show his exasperation. Roy and Wally shared a look.

"Did you tell Bats about what's been going on?" the archer asked cautiously.

"I told him about meeting the guy on the roof and that I was compromised. I'm supposed to meet him at the Watchtower on the night of my birthday, after I spend some time with the Team and you guys. I don't know when I'll be planet-side again," he whispered. Dick blinked and steeled his gaze, "He doesn't know about the other stuff though. If he finds out, he'd drag me up there before I can tell the team goodbye. Call me selfish, but I just want a little more time to be with my friends," he whispered, ashamed that he wouldn't tell his father-figure the full story.

"Hey, Dick, look at me," Roy ordered softly, "We'll make sure your birthday is still a happy one, Court or no Court, Batman or no Batman. And I promise we'll figure out what's going on."

"And we'll give these birds a good beat down," Wally added, pummeling his fist into his palm to emphasize it, "Nobody messes with my little bro and gets away with it."

Dick grinned sadly at the two redheads trying to comfort him. Nothing was making sense to him anymore, but at least he had his best friends with him this time.

"I can talk to Cheshire," Roy offered, "see if she knows anything. She's pretty deep into the whole assassins thing. I'm sure she has info of some kind."

The younger heroes smirked up at the archer, who only rolled his eyes with a frown. Yeah, he was secretly dating an assassin, but it's not like they were exactly "goody-two-shoes" either. KF was seeing a former member of the Hive Five, and he was pretty certain that cute alien chic Rob was hanging around wasn't exactly a legal citizen. He'd heard the story of how Starfire came to Earth.

Dick shrugged, "I don't know how much she'd know, Red. They're mainly in Gotham, and her people don't hang around there much. You can ask, but don't expect any big breakthroughs."

Roy nodded, understanding what his younger friend was trying to say. It hurt him not being able to do more for the kid he considered a brother. But Wally, ever the optimist, decided a subject other than doom and gloom was necessary.

"Dude, why don't you tell us how you were able to take on seven guys all by yourself! That's got to be a pretty good story."

The ebony-haired ninja ducked his head, "To be honest, I don't remember most of it, and what I do recall isn't exactly pretty…or Robin-like."

"What do you mean?" Wally pressed.

"I was moving fast, like really fast, and I was so angry. I had never felt that kind of rage before, and I kinda vented on the guys."

"They probably deserved it," Roy muttered.

"I should be dead," Robin stated, "One guy had a gun, and he shot at my head at point blank range."

"How did you survive?!" Wally demanded.

Dick scratched his ear and mumbled, "I pulled out a bird-a-rang and sliced it in two. The bullet ended up hitting the wall."

Roy and Wally gasped, eyes wide in surprise.

"That's not all," he continued sadly, "That same guy was the only one left conscious. I had his gun in my hands before I could blink."

Dick began to break down, tears sliding down his face that he tried to wipe away to no avail, "I- I was so angry. And I-And I came so close to..to..I almost killed him! I had my finger on the trigger, but I-I—"

For the first in months, Dick cried, and he cried hard. Roy and Wally scooted closer to either side of him and pulled him into a three-way hug. The young acrobat latched on to them like a lifeline, shoulders heaving as sobs choked out.

"Wha-What if I had done it?" he hiccuped, "I a-almost did. Bruce would never forgive me i-if I did. I'm so sorry I let myself get that close."

That didn't sound like Dick. No matter how upset he was, he'd never let himself get too close to that edge. It just wasn't in him to take a life. Something was really wrong, and the two redheads determined that they were going to get to the bottom of this when they got the chance.

"But you didn't go through with it," Roy whispered, "You didn't do it, so there's nothing to be sorry about."

Dick slowly began to calm down. His shoulders settled as his breathing slowed. He leaned into them once again before pulling away. Wiping his eyes with an airy laugh that only comes after pure emotional exhaustion.

"Thanks, guys."

The two gingers settled on either side of the ebony, effectively squishing him in a weird side- hug/ sandwich combo. Dick grew up in a circus, where he was constantly be touched, and his two closest friends knew that physical contact was the best way to comfort their distressed little brother. Wally grinned brightly.

"Hey, what are bros for?"

Dick grabbed Wally's wrist, who linked his to Roy's, and Roy clasped onto Dick's, making a triangle with their hands.

"Brothers?"

"Brothers."

They let go, and Dick leaned back on the pillows. For the first time in ages, he felt safe and warm. Only the two former sidekicks beside him or his mentor could bring him to feel so relaxed and protected. Robin never needed protecting, but Dick Grayson did, and that's exactly who he was right now. The mask, both literally and figuratively, was off, and he could be himself.

Eyelids heavy, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep with the comfort of his two closest friends beside him.

What he didn't notice was his eyes flashing gold...