Chapter 2
Friday came and Robin spent the morning packing his things for his week in Gotham. He wouldn't need his Robin outfit because it was widely established that Batman worked alone for the moment, but he packed one anyway, just because he took one everywhere. Well you never know what might happen. Though it was probably best he didn't go out as Robin in Gotham despite anything that may happen. Dick Grayson returns, the week that Robin is out of Jump City and Robin is seen in Gotham with Batman? No, too many connections. No one's that stupid. Still, the uniform was going.
As Robin was packing, he felt his stomach grumble and realised he should probably go and get some food. He hadn't eaten breakfast and it was coming up to lunch time. So he abandoned his suitcase and made his way through to the kitchen where the rest of his team were. Luckily for Robin, Cyborg was currently making some food for everyone to share, so Robin took up a seat at the table where Raven was reading. Beast Boy was currently engaged in playing the latest Mega Monkeys, and Starfire was sat on air in the corner, looking out the window over the city.
"So what time do you want me to drop you off?" Raven asked. Robin had asked her the day before if she would teleport him to Star City so as to make it easier for him to get to the airport. That way no one could track his movements from the tower. Dick Grayson hadn't been seen publicly in a while, so it wouldn't look odd that he just showed up in Star City without warning.
"Take off's at four so if you could drop me at the airport at about half three, that would be great." Robin smiled as Raven nodded at him. Cyborg interrupted the two by placing a plate of pancakes in the middle of the table.
"Come on BB, Star, Lunch." Cyborg set out an array of sauces before sitting down at the table. Beast Boy made his way over and took his place.
"I thought pancakes were breakfast food." Beast Boy took five pancakes off the plate as a start, regardless of his question.
"They are BB, but who doesn't love pancakes?" He had a point. They all enjoyed them.
Robin looked over to see that Starfire hadn't moved. "Star..." He was stopped by Raven who waved her hand in front of his face.
"She's meditating. Just leave her to it." Raven picked up some strawberry sauce and covered her pancakes before digging in.
"Hey Rob, what are you actually gonna do in Gotham? You joining Bats at all?" Beast Boy had recently been more behaved when it came to Batman. He had gotten out of his fan for stage rather quickly since it was apparent that Batman wasn't like the Titans, and no he would not sign anything. Maybe as Bruce Wayne occasionally, but never as Batman. But he was still really interested in Batman, wanting to know about how he works and things, and Robin was only occasionally forth coming with his information.
"No, not unless it's absolutely necessary. I might help him from the cave but other than that, we both think it's best I keep Robin out of Gotham."
"Well, have fun. And dude... I hope tomorrow is as good as possible for ya." Beast Boy flashed Robin a sheepish smile. Robin just stared at him for a moment. He knew that Beast Boy had lost his parents in a similar way, and both teenagers still feel they could both have prevented their parents' deaths, but he'd never known Beast Boy so... Sincere.
"Thanks Beast Boy. That means a lot." The group descended into silence and Robin sat eating with a small smile on his face. He might have lost his family at an early age, and he missed them more every day, but his new family, the Titans, filled that void. He knew he could count on them for anything, even if it was just a small understanding smile.
Soon after they had finished lunch, the Titan's separated once again and Robin went back to finish packing his suitcase. It was around one o'clock and the faster he finished that, the more time he had to make sure everything was in order before he left. It wasn't that he didn't trust his team, it was that he didn't want to leave them unprepared. He would only check things like security measures and make sure Cyborg new all the pass codes to the computer, just little things really. He also wanted to drill into Beast Boy that under no circumstances was he to go into Robin's room and convince everyone to wear his uniform. He'd had to throw five uniforms away that day as they had either been stretched, or just ruined.
Snapping his suitcase closed, Robin placed it by his door and straightened a few things in his room out so it was tidy for when he came back. He made his bed, tidied his desk, made sure his spare uniforms were in order, mostly so he would know if they had been touched when he came back. A sigh escaped him and Robin stared absently at his bed. The anniversary of his parents' death was always hard for him. He wasn't sure he'd ever truly get used to the idea of it. They were such wonderful people that Robin couldn't understand why they were taken from the world. They were the best parents anyone could wish for, so the least he could do is visit their resting place every year.
He had initially been to the grave site on his mother's birthday, his fathers birthday, and the date of their death, but after he moved out of Gotham it became more difficult to go without it being obvious that Robin was missing from Jump. And Robin always argued with himself that the good he was doing, the effort he was putting into being a hero, would make his parents more proud than visits ever could. Besides, the visits always made him uncontrollably emotional to the point where even Bruce Wayne knew to leave him alone. That lesson was learnt when Robin was asked to join Batman on the evening patrol one year. It didn't go down well with the Boy Wonder.
Anyway, Robin finished tidying his room, changed into jeans and a red hoodie, and collected his suitcase before heading for the living room. He entered the room, placing his suitcase against the table before heading over to the computer. "Cy?" Cyborg was just lounging on the sofa watching Beast Boy play one of his many Zombie games.
"Yeah?"
"You know how to..."
"Connect to the cave under extreme circumstances only. Track all communicators as a collective and individually. I know the security like the back of my hand since I installed the system. Under no circumstances is anyone of us to follow you to Gotham. Do not try to track you since the tracker in your communicator will be turned off, despite the fact that we know where you'll be. Just sayin'. All paperwork must be completed and logged in their necessary places within 48 hours of mission completion. No one is allowed in your room. All protocols must be followed no matter what. Do not bother the Justice League. No parties. No slacking on duties. Under no circumstances is Beast Boy allowed near the washing machine. Oh and Starfire isn't allowed to fight, or allowed out of the tower without having someone with her! Did I miss anything?"
Cyborg eyed Robin with a cocky smirk on his face, figuring he knew everything that Robin was going to say to him. Robin frowned, and as stoically as possible said, "anyone who touches my bike is going to end up in Arkham for a night." He turned back to the console and typed a few things in before bringing out his communicator and turning off his tracker. "You won't be able to track me, and if you need to contact me and I don't answer just wait and I'll get back to you when I can. I really don't have any concerns in leaving you, I trust you. The only concern I have really is Slade getting out but honestly the chances are so minimal it's not worth even thinking about." He returned his communicator to his belt.
"Yeah we're well prepared for any event. I won't let anyone bother you tomorrow and if we need you, we'll call so you just go be Dick for a week and leave Robin here." They smiled at each other and Robin finished what he was doing on the computer just as Raven entered the room. Robin looked at the clock. 3:15. Time to say his goodbyes. Beast Boy paused his game and he and Cyborg got up from the sofa, joining Robin and Raven at the table.
"Right, well I'll see you all in a week. I'll be back Friday morning around ten. Batman will be coming on Tuesday to check Starfire's progress, I won't be coming with him. If there are any changes in her behaviour or mentality I want to know about it. Go careful and no one die." Robin hugged Raven and fist bumped Cyborg and Beast Boy before heading over to where Starfire was still meditating. "Star?" He gently roused her from her mind and helped her as she stood.
"You are leaving?"
"Yeah, it's only a week. I'll be back before you know it." He looked at her softly. Her hands found their way to his face before she gently peeled his mask off.
"You do not need this. Not if you are wishing to convince people you are not Robin." A small giggle escaped her as she placed it in his jeans pocket. He offered a small chuckle in return and took her hands in his.
"You won't be able to contact me tomorrow, but anytime after that, you need anything and I'll try my best for you. I'm gonna miss you Star." He pulled her into a hug and she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I will do the missing if you too, Richard." She pulled back and smiled at him and they shared a loving kiss before Robin pulled away from her.
"Bye Star." He moved over to where Raven was waiting for him and picked up his suitcase.
"Goodbye, Robin."
The other Titans voiced their goodbyes as Robin took Raven's hand and they vanished from view in a screech of black. Moments later, Raven returned, and they were left with just the four of them.
Raven had dropped Robin and his suitcase in the men's toilets in the entrance to the airport. He checked himself in the mirror, just making sure he didn't look too much like Robin to raise suspicion, before realising his hair was still spiky. Dick Grayson didn't gel his hair. Dick favoured the floppy look. Wetting his hands, he flattened his hair down over his forehead as best as he could and turned on that Grayson charm he was well known for before leaving the toilets and making his way to through passport control with as much confidence as possible. He was instantly recognised.
There were whispers that followed him as he sauntered through the airport. Is that Dick Grayson? What's he doing here? Does he go to college here? Where's Bruce? The questions went on. Luckily, no one approached him and he made it to the desk without hassle. "Hello, can I help you?" The woman at the desk hadn't even looked up, but he passed his passport over anyway and waited. He watched as she opened it to the correct page and checked the number, before looking at the photo and then looking up at him. She did a double take as she looked at the name and then back at him. "Oh! Mr Grayson! I was told you'd be coming through our humble airport today. Mr Wayne has organised everything for you already. The jet is just being prepared for you. I will personally deliver your luggage to the plane and if you go through to our private lounge there are complimentary refreshments for you while you wait. Someone will come collect you when your plane is ready."
She handed his passport back to him before taking his suitcase off of him and directing him towards the private lounge. Being the ward of a billionaire socialite had its perks. Well, sure Dick made it clear that he didn't need the extravagance that came with Bruce, but that didn't mean he didn't appreciate it from time to time. He relaxed in a comfy chair and settled on a fresh cup of coffee. Four o'clock wasn't that far away, and thinking about it, Alfred would probably be preparing a big meal for them right now. He was nice like that.
Robin took a moment and wondered what it was going to be like spending a week back at the Manor. He was going to be properly spending time with Bruce, Alfred, Jason, and maybe even Barbra. It was going to be... Nice. Well that's what he hoped. He knew that Jason and Alfred would probably tiptoe around him for a few days, so as not to upset him, and he and Bruce were generally getting along better. So yeah, it would probably be nice.
The time came and Dick Grayson got on his private jet and left for Gotham. The plane journey was quiet and relaxed and Robin was thankful for it. He sat back and his mind wandered to Starfire. He knew she would be okay without him but it didn't stop him from worrying about her. Robin already planned to have a voice call with Superman from the Batcave and see if he had any ideas on how to help Starfire rid herself of her excess energy. But that was a plan for Sunday. Tomorrow was a big day and as horrid as it seemed, Robin's concern for Starfire would take a back seat. Everything would. Robin looked out of the window and watched the clouds as the plane flew by them, tomorrow was going to be tough.
XXXXXX
Dick Grayson landed in Gotham City at 6 that evening, and everyone knew about it. Every news paper, magazine, and even a few news crews were at the airport to greet him. He turned on his Grayson charm and threw a few dashing smiles their way, but he didn't stop to talk. He got straight in the car waiting for him and let Alfred drive him back to Wayne Manor. "It certainly is good to see you Master Dick. I trust your journey was okay?"
"It's good to see you too Alfred. And yeah it was great thanks."
They pulled into the Manor not long after and Alfred wandered off to finish preparing the meal for that evening. Dick looked around and found that the place hadn't changed any since he was last there, except for the sign on the door next to his that once again read, 'Jason'. Discarding his suitcase in his old room, he went and knocked on the door of Jason's room but got no answer. He did however find that Jason and Bruce were sitting watching TV together. It was an odd sight to say the least. "Figured you'd be working or something?" Dick took his seat next to Bruce who smiled at him.
"Figured you would have brought your girlfriend with you?" Bruce cocked his head slightly as Dick's face distorted a little.
"I thought about it... But decided against it. I know that the Titans already know everything but I don't think I'm quite ready to bring Starfire yet."
"I just thought she might be able to help you through tomorrow. I know it's none of my business but the only person who can bring you up when you're down, is her."
"I know but I... It's only one week."
Bruce was dubious of his eldest son's excuse but he didn't pry the matter. Besides, dinner would be ready soon and it would be nice to have Dick back, even if it was just for one week.
