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Raven didn't mean to be up so early, but the amount of time she'd spent sleeping on Robin's bike the day before meant that she'd only gotten a few hours of sleep before her body decided it'd had enough and was going to stay up.

In a happy coincidence, the lateness with which she and Robin arrived meant that she woke up just after dawn regardless, and headed downstairs to the dining area. It was empty, but she could hear someone rummaging around in the kitchen, and pushed the door open in order to find out if it was Alfred or Robin. "Morning." She called out when she found out it was the latter. "Did you wake up this early, or..."

Robin shook his head. "I couldn't sleep." He turned to her, but when he caught her eye he quickly glanced away, making Raven tilt her head. "What about you?"

"I got a little more sleep last night, but right now I could really use some breakfast." She admitted. Not the she blamed Robin for wanting to get here as soon as he did, but she wished they'd stopped at some point to eat.

"I've got some eggs here-" He tapped the counter, where a few inches away she spotted the carton, "Bacon, sausage, ham, three different kinds of bread and a variety of jams... Hungry for anything in particular?" He asked.

Raven looked around the kitchen at the various items laid out, and the several pans and spatulas lined up neatly on the countertop. "That all sounds good..." She admitted. "Sure you can cook it all by yourself? I can help." She offered.

"I dunno, Rae..." He turned and smirked at her, crossing his arms over his chest. "Has your cooking gotten any better?"

Raven quirked a brow at him. "As a matter of fact, it has. Cyborg has been teaching me." She turned around and began turning on stovetops, the flames coming alight with a short lived whoosh.

The two quickly moved around the kitchen, setting down the pans on burners. Robin watched as the sausage and bacon floated overhead and began sizzling in the pan, then started work on the eggs. For a moment, Robin wanted to tease her about the last time she'd tried cooking, but then decided against it. "What's he been teaching you?" He asked instead.

"Lots of things, actually. What sides go best with your main dish, how to season different types of meat, how often to stir versus letting a dish sit..." She trailed off, then after a thought occurred to her added, "How to read a cookbook."

Robin snorted and Raven's lips lifted for a second before she focused back on the task at hand. "Will you ever cook again?"

"Maybe." Raven admitted. "Back then, I wanted to do something nice for everyone, and it was one of the few things I figured we could easily enjoy together. Better than inviting you into my room and trying to explain my books or something equally silly." She said with a dismissive wave. "If I'm ever feeling generous, I wouldn't mind cooking for everyone again."

"I'll be your taste tester." Robin offered, taking the pan off the burner and killing the flame. "Uh, crap, I forgot to grab plates. Rae, they're in the-" Robin pointed, and a second later the plates flew out of the cabinet. "Thanks!" He separated the cooked eggs onto two different plates and placed them in the sink. "So, what do we have to do to get you to cook? Surely the end of the world isn't the minimum?"

Raven gathered up the portions she cooked and with Robin's help, divided them between their two plates. "It doesn't." She agreed, but blinked as she realized why she hadn't cooked again, even though she'd been improving under Cyborg's tutelage. "But I'm grateful to all of you, all of the time." She could practically hear Robin's brow jump in surprise at her admission. "Even if I don't always show it or say it. I guess that ever since then, I didn't feel like a meal would be enough to show my appreciation." Her voice lowered and she gazed at the plate in front her, not really looking at as her face was shadowed by her falling forward.

"Well, no one's asking you to do anything drastic, Rae." Robin said with a shrug, raising his hand and brushing her hair behind her ear without really thinking about it. "Besides, if you did anything for us, you know we'd appreciate it." Robin picked up his plate and walked away, grabbing a set of silverware and leaving Raven behind with her eyes wide in surprise.

It took a moment, but her brain turned back on and she shook her head, loosening her hair from where it had been tucked and followed him into the dining room.

"How could you?"

She tilted her head as she saw Alfred and Robin there, the latter having set his plate down on the table and looking at the butler. "Sorry Alfred, I'm used to cooking my own breakfast."

Alfred sighed and took a moment to straighten his suit. "Master Grayson, it is quite literally my job to cook, clean, and otherwise look after yourself and the guests of Wayne Manor. I'm afraid I must insist that if you are hungry, you let me know and I'll prepare a dish for you."

Robin chuckled, and Raven could sense that neither of them were really arguing. She wondered if this had happened before, but she sat down as Robin spoke again. "Sure thing, Alfred."

"There are dishes left if you want to clean those." Raven offered.

Alfred again regarded her by slightly tilting his head back and looking down at her, but for a moment that both of the heroes caught, his lips twitched in a half smile. "The dishes can wait. I'd like to discuss your visit for being here."

Half of Robin's plate had already disappeared, but he stopped and set his fork down with a clink. "So what happened exactly? You said on the call that he was going to stop a small arms shipment, but who was it for? Who all is locked up in Arkham right now?"

"Elbows off the table. To answer your second question first, I have a bit of bad news. About eight months ago, there was a large scale breakout at Arkham." Alfred informed him. "Joker, Riddler, Two Face, and several other villains managed to get loose, however-" Alfred raised a hand when Robin tried to speak, "None of them have been causing the destruction they are known for. As a matter of fact, until Batman went missing, things have been quiet in Gotham, relatively speaking of course. The most Batman has been dealing with are petty criminals and the like. Commissioner Gordon gave him the tip about the small arms shipment, but Batman didn't say anything about who they were going to. My guess would be one of the supervillains, but in the month since Batman's disappearance, none of them have come forward to claim credit for his disappearance."

"I don't want to upset either of you, but if it's been a whole month, shouldn't we assume the worst?" Raven asked, setting her own utensil down and lacing her fingers together under her chin. "I don't know how strong he is, really. But if he sustained some kind of a life threatening injury, without proper medical care it's possible he..." She trailed and looked between the two.

"Yes." Alfred responded. "I've known ever since he began his crusade that there could be a night he left and would never come home, but something doesn't feel right about this. If he were dead, if Batman truly had been killed, there would be riots in the street, from the organized criminals and the criminally insane. If it were revealed who he was, they most certainly would have come here or done something drastic at Wayne Enterprises, but like I said: things have been quiet in Gotham."

"Then it's likely he isn't dead." Robin said. "Whoever the weapons were for must have been there that night and fought him, except this time they got the better of him. The most likely scenario is that they're keeping him alive for blackmail. It's also a possibility they unmasked him. But, if they did, then they must have some sort of plan to keep their criminal cohorts quiet. Whoever's behind this is smart, smarter than we're used to dealing with." Robin tapped his fingers on the table rhythmically, his gaze focused a thousand yards away as thought after thought ran through his mind.

"We need to speak to this Commissioner." Raven said. "We can go there after we're done here-"

"We can't." Robin sat up, crossing his arms over his chest. "This isn't Jump City; we're criminals here. Technically, there's an arrest warrant out for me. I haven't told you this because it's never been important, but when the Titans were formed there were 'talks' about extraditing me back to Gotham. Of course, they never went anywhere, but we can't just stroll into the police station here. It'll force us to 'break out' and it's not worth the effort. We'll have to meet Gordon in private."

"How?"

"The Bat Signal." Alfred supplied. "Gordon is the one who activates it, and he'll be there for a couple of hours in case Batman comes to meet him. That is when you will go."

Raven turned her head to look out the window, sighing as she saw the cloudy daytime sky. "Looks like we've got some time to kill."

The sound of wood scraping against wood caused her to turn back to Robin. "I'm going to go train. Things have been a little too slow in Jump City, and I need to be in good condition if we're going to be fighting one of the villains soon. See you guys later." He gave a wave, then made his way in the direction of the library.

Alfred began collecting his utensils and his plate, then turned to Raven. "Young Miss, if you are finished then I shall clear the table for you as well."

She glanced down at her food, mostly gone, and shrugged. "Sure." She gathered everything and handed it to Alfred.

"As I said previously, the manor is yours to explore. Enjoy your day, Miss Raven."

With a polite dip of his head, Alfred made his way into the kitchen.

A few hours later, Raven found herself in the Solarium, cloak wrapped her as she levitated off the ground and quietly repeated, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..." over and over again.

While she'd gained a much larger amount of control over her powers after her fathers demise, she still wasn't one hundred percent in control. The upside was that she only needed to meditate once a week if things were going good, or up to twice a week in case of the opposite.

The mantra continued over and over again, and Raven in her trance did not hear the creak of the Solarium door.

Alfred raised his brow, frowning at the unnatural sight. However, he stepped closer and cleared his throat. "Miss Raven. I've prepared some Chai tea for you." He saw her robe straighten and assumed she'd descended to the ground, proven correctly as he she pivoted on her heel and turned towards him. "Master Grayson told me earlier that you enjoy it in the morning, but I'm afraid this is the only blend I had on hand. I'll make sure we have more by this evening."

"Thank you, Alfred." She raised the cup to her lips and gently blew, but her gaze lingered on the steaming liquid. She turned to Alfred, who gave her a polite nod, and sighed. "You don't like that I'm here, do you?" She asked, blunt and to the point.

"It's not quite that." He assured her. "On some level, I'd prefer it if your entire team was here to provide assistance in searching for Master Wayne. But we've gone to such careful lengths to conceal both his and Master Grayson's identity, that to have them unmasked is..." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Disconcerting." He finished. "I did ask for Robin alone." He reminded her. "And neither of you have explained how you came to know who he really is."

She didn't have to be an empath to figure out that Robin and Alfred must have been talking down in the cave, or what exactly they had been talking about. A sad smile briefly flitted across Raven's face as she recalled the event. "He was in trouble. About to die, actually. He'd been poisoned, and was fighting back against a hallucination of someone who wasn't really there, and it was destroying his body. He refused to listen to us, so I had to go into his mind to try and help him." She scoffed. "It didn't work. In the end, Robin figured out how to save himself, and the poison wore off afterwards." Raven stared at the ground, thinking, "It's not fair of me to withhold that information from Alfred. I don't know why Robin doesn't want to tell him."

Alfred's eyes had widened in surprise. "I see..." Was all he said after he took in the information. He cleared his throat and bowed politely, stunning Raven. "In that case, I owe you my apologies, and my thanks, for saving Master Grayson's life."

Raven waved her hand. "Don't thank me. We were all trying to save him, and like I said, I failed. Besides, he's done more for me than I ever have for him."

The words escaped her before she could really think about them, and she took another sip from the cup to stop herself from saying anything else.

"I'm afraid I don't know much about you, Miss Raven." Alfred said slowly. "I took the liberty of looking online, but you're apparently the most reclusive of the Titans, and other than magical powers, I'm afraid there isn't much to speak of."

"Except for the tea."

"Yes, except for that."

Raven could tell that he was expecting an answer, and her instincts based off of her whole childhood closing herself off from others momentarily took charge, and she turned around and set the cup down on the table. But she took a deep breath, thinking, "I don't have anything to hide anymore. My friends already know, and if I know who Robin really is..." She took a deep breath and walked over to a nearby chair and sat down. "My mother's from right here in Gotham." She saw Alfred tilt his head, and closed her eyes. "My father's a demon. It's why I have magical powers." She brought her legs up and crossed them under herself. "When she was pregnant with me, a civilization from another dimension called Azarath took her from here so I could be raised there in order to control my powers. They get stronger the more I feel, so I had to train all my life to keep them under control."

Alfred walked over and stood across from her. "That sounds quite rough for a child, Miss Raven."

"Well, it wasn't so bad. Far from perfect, but I could've had it a lot worse. I had my mom, and the people of Azarath were trying to help." She said. "But I found out-" She hesitated, deciding Alfred didn't need to know the whole truth about her just yet, and continued, "-That my father was going to come here and wreak havoc, so I left Azarath and joined the Titans to stop him."

"And I take it you were successful?" Alfred asked.

"Yep." Raven couldn't stop a small smile from forming, so she turned her head in the hopes Alfred wouldn't notice. "And Robin was a big help with that. That's what I meant when I said he's done more for than I ever have for him, and why I accepted his request to come here. Facing my father... was difficult, but he never stopped trying to help me."

She turned back to look at Alfred, and saw him smiling. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing." He responded, but the smile from his face a moment later. "I understand why he wouldn't want to face Master Wayne alone after what happened last time."

Raven uncrossed her legs from under her, and placed her hands on her knees. "Alfred, what did happen? I know they argued, and that Robin didn't feel like an equal, but when I went into his mind, I didn't see everything."

Alfred sighed. "I was opposed to Master Grayson being a crime fighter at first." He admitted. "A ten year old boy going out and fighting any type of criminal, much less the extremely destructive ones, could you imagine? But, when I saw how driven Master Grayson was to stop crime, even at his young age, I knew there would be no stopping either of them. They'd both lost their parents to criminals, and they both wanted vengeance." Alfred looked over at the door to the living room, and Raven could tell he was lost in an old memory. "At first, Master Grayson and Master Wayne were happy. They'd go to school and work respectively, then come back and rest, and then go out and strike down Gotham's criminal element at night."

"So what changed?" Raven asked.

"I believe the problem lied with both of them. Master Grayson wanted to fight criminals, and didn't take well to being restricted from it. And despite his good intentions, Master Wayne himself told me that he didn't know the best approach to being a father. So, he treated Master Grayson like a soldier, expecting him to follow orders and do as he was told. Master Grayson had certainly grown into a capable fighter in his own right, and didn't always need to be told what to do like he was still a child. But when he got himself injured, Master Wayne would become even more strict with him."

"Must have happened a lot." She mused.

"It came with the territory. I tried to make Master Wayne understand that, but it was difficult because as I said prior, I didn't want a child put in harms way in the first place."

"So what pushed Robin over the edge and made him leave?"

Alfred took a deep breath and sighed. "After several instances of Master Grayson coming home and needing stitches for stab wounds or needing bullets removed, Master Wayne threated to take away the Robin costume and all his gadgets and prevent him from ever going to the Bat Cave again if he didn't listen. Of course, I'm sure even if Master Grayson followed orders perfectly he still would've gotten hurt, which is exactly what happened. The next time they went out, Two Face managed to separate the duo and kidnapped Batman, and left a trail for Robin to follow. When Robin arrived, Two Face made him choose between saving Batman or saving a lawyer that had also been abducted. Batman ordered him to save the lawyer, which he did, but... It was a set up. Robin let his guard and when the lawyer got free, he revealed that he was one of Two Face's thugs and shot Robin five times in the chest at point blank range."

Raven's eyes widened in horror, her hands coming up to her mouth as she gasped aloud.

"He was in critical condition for a week. We had nearly given up and were ready to take him to the hospital so he could receive more adequate care, but he finally came to." Alfred shook his head. "Master Wayne was angry at himself for putting the young boy in that situation in the first place, and decided the best way to protect him was to stop him from going out altogether. The next time Master Wayne went out, he told Master Grayson he was no longer his partner and ordered him to return the costume."

"But Robin took everything and left for Jump City." Raven finished.

Alfred nodded. "That was the angriest I'd ever seen them with one another."

"Robin probably wanted to forget that night ever happened." Raven thought to herself. "He must have pushed it deep down, because I should've seen that night..." She shook her head. Her conversation with Robin on top of the tower from the night she'd told him that she knew his secret identity came to mind, and Raven's hands clenched into fists on her legs. "And then he told me that his only purpose in life is to keep fighting because he thinks he'll just lose his ties to the people he cares about again." She grit her teeth, anger flaring in her chest as she thought about the way Bruce had treated Robin. "He looked up to you, you gave him hope, and you couldn't even tell him that you cared?"

"Miss Raven?"

She was pulled out of her thoughts as Alfred leaned forward and waved his hand get her attention. "Sorry." She put a hand to her chest and exhaled slowly. "Did Batman ever try to get him back or reach out to him?" She asked.

"At first, he wanted to. But once it was clear he was no longer in the state, Master Wayne decided the best course of action was to let Master Grayson decide his own path. After learning of the team he had formed, Master Wayne decided he'd be in good hands and turned his full attention back to Gotham." Alfred answered.

Raven sighed and took another drink of her tea. "What do you think will happen when they see each other again?"

"I'm not sure. I am hoping that enough time has passed for their grievances to have faded, but honestly it's not the reunion I'm worried about. It's what'll happen after."

Just as she was about to respond, the door opened and Robin entered.

"Good afternoon, Master Grayson." Alfred stood and approached the young man. "Have you finished practicing?"

"Yeah, it felt good to get back into the swing of things." He stretched both arms overhead. "I was just going to tell you that I was going to sleep for a little bit before we begin tonight." He stepped to the side and looked at Raven. "You should try and get some rest, too. There's no telling how long tonight will be."

"Sounds good." She said. Robin nodded at her and turned to leave. Raven picked up her empty cup and returned it to Alfred. "Thank you once again." He nodded politely, and the three walked back into the manor proper. Alfred departed for the kitchen and Robin and Raven made their way up the stairs.

"Nice to see you two getting along." Robin said.

"Alfred makes good tea." She said, her voice high with approval.

"What all were you talking about before I walked in?" He asked.

Raven pursed her lips, wondering what all she should tell him, before deciding that there was no point in lying when he could very easily find out from Alfred. "He wanted to know how I knew about your secret identity, so I told him about the incident and how I went into your mind." She saw him nod in the corner of her eye, and decided to continue. "He also wanted to know more about me, so I told him some of the stuff I've told you guys."

"Really?" Robin asked with a grin. "I seem to recall it taking us literal years to get that out of you."

"Yes, but I had Alfred at a disadvantage and wanted him to know we could be on equal footing. It didn't seem necessary to keep him at arms length. Besides, I know I can trust him." She supplied. "That same courtesy won't be extended to every person who asks, just so you know."

"Well, he'll probably tell Bruce either way, so..."

"Hmph." Raven looked back in front of her. They'd arrived at the second floor and Robin had turned to go to his room. "I asked him about you and Batman." She said.

Robin stopped, turning his head back to look at her from the corner of his eye before turning to face her fully. "What about me and Batman?" He asked, and though his voice was relaxed, Raven could tell there was a tense undercurrent.

"What made you two split in the first place." She watched his reaction, and felt caution in his emotions, and took a step forward. "I'm sorry that things ended up that way between you two." She put a hand on his shoulder, and he blinked, but his wariness didn't fade. Deciding to take a chance, Raven added, "I'll stay with you no matter what." She let go, and before he had a chance to respond, turned on her heel and went up to her room.

Even so, she could feel his doubt radiating like the sun.

She fell into her bed with a soft thump, groaning as she pulled the pillow over her head. "I hate that he feels that way. That that's his first reaction to being cared for. I have to change his mind."

It took some time for her to fall asleep, but it was dark out when Raven awoke to the sound of three loud knocks on her door.

"Raven? It's me. I'll meet you downstairs."

"Feels like I just closed my eyes." She muttered as she stood with a wince, stretching her arms behind her back and groggily walking downstairs. She ran a hand through her hair as she walked, smoothing it out the areas where it had gotten messy.

A few minutes of slowly walking down the stairs later, she arrived in library and quick elevator ride later, she was in the Bat Cave. "So..." She approached Robin, who was adjusting the gloves on his costume. "What's Commissioner Gordon like? He's not as... peppy as our Commissioner is, is he?" Raven asked with a shudder.

Robin chuckled. "No, he's nothing like him. Gordon is much more... straightforward. You'll see for yourself in a little bit."

"Take care, you two." Alfred sighed as he watched them go. "And be safe."

Raven thought the city looked cool from a distance, but actually flying through it up close provided a whole different experience.

"It looks like a crumbling ruin..." She thought to herself, looking down at the trash lined sidewalks, crumbling brick buildings, and outdated and unsafe monorail lines that had been shut down years ago. "But it feels like the people here refuse to let go, like they can pick up the pieces and still save the city..." She noted the difference between here and Jump City, how despite being its size Jump City and it's citizens were looking and walking into a brighter future. She watched as Robin ran from ledge to edge and jumped between the rooftops of the buildings easily, his grappling hook never missing its target. "And the Art Deco design of most of these buildings makes it easier to maneuver. Though I think I prefer the classical style of these buildings to the modern style of Jump City."

Robin came to a stop on the edge of a roof, and Raven descended to stand beside him. "There." He pointed down, and Raven looked where he was directing her attention to.

On the rooftop, standing beside a floodlight with his hands in the pockets of his brown trench coat and a cigarette in his mouth, was Commissioner Gordon. He hadn't noticed their arrival as he was turned to the side, looking up at the where the signal was shining against the sky. "Time to introduce ourselves." Raven said, lifting into the air.

Gordon put out his cigarette and turned around when he heard the sound of a cape flapping in the wind. "And where have you been the last-" He stopped when he saw Robin land. "Robin!? What are you doing back here?"

"We got word that Batman's been missing." He explained as he stood up.

"I haven't seen him in over a month." Gordon confirmed. "I've been waiting for him to show up, but I didn't know who to-" He stopped when he saw Raven standing behind him. "You've brought a friend from Jump City, that creepy magic girl right?"

"This- is Raven. And she's my friend." Robin frowned at Gordon's description. "And she's not creepy."

"Huh. I didn't mean to be rude, but magic is a little out of my ball park."

Raven stepped forward and stood beside Robin. "Batman went missing after intercepting a shipment of weapons into the city. What can you tell us about it?"

Gordon sighed. "We've been trying to stop these shipments for a few months now. But we kept getting impeded by paperwork and lawyers, so I tipped off Batman the last time I saw him. Figured he could make a bigger impact, and stop criminals in Gotham from arming themselves. It should've been something he could handle, but if the two of you are here..." He trailed off and shook his head.

"Do you know if there's another shipment coming in?" Robin asked.

"Should be soon. We've got an undercover cop feeding us info, and I gave Batman a USB with all the information on it. The next one should be coming in this upcoming Thursday; if we're lucky, it should provide a clue about what happened, but in the meantime, we've got bigger problems."

"Like what?" Raven asked.

"Criminals are starting to notice Batman's been missing. Slowly but surely, the amount of crime has been steadily increasing now that talk of his absence is going around in their circles. Batman's had a good effect on reducing the crime here, but if someone doesn't go out there and start striking fear into the criminal element again..."

"Leave that to us." Robin said. "Until the next shipment is here, Raven and I will start reminding criminals that there are consequences to their actions."

"Be careful." Gordon said as he watched the two turn and head out into the city, ready to begin their work.