Chapter 2: Threats
Dick Grayson sat at the antique table, a plate of food steaming in front of him. It had been a long time since he had tasted Alfred's cooking, and even longer since he had been completely out of costume. His face felt naked not having the mask on. But, no matter what else he felt, it was overshadowed by the comfortable feeling of having returned home. He missed Titan's Tower, and his friends living there too. Wayne Manor had just become so much a part of him.
Bruce sat in front of him, slowly sipping at his soup. After Robin had arrived he had Alfred take him to his room, and had him change into civilian clothes. He was slightly perplexed by this. Batman had made the callback seem life or death, yet he still hadn't explained why he needed him. Dick knew that Bruce would let him know when he was ready but that wasn't enough. He had an obligation to wrap up whatever needed his attention here and get back to his obligation with the Titans.
"Um… Bruce, you wanna tell me what the big emergency is?" Dick asked. Bruce put his spoon down, and looked up at his adoptive son.
"Alright, since you seem to be in a hurry. Let's head down to the cave." Bruce turned, and looked at Alfred. "If you could just bring us down some sandwiches." Alfred nodded, leaving the room as Dick and Bruce pushed their chairs back and stood up, heading towards the grandfather clock in the living room that would allow them access to the Batcave. Bruce stopped only briefly, using the secret switch and access code that made the grandfather clock swing open. Dick followed him down the stone carved steps, trying hard to hide his impatience.
Bruce approached the massive computer, and tapped a few keys. An image of Slade appeared on the screen, and Dick almost forgot to breathe.
"Justice League," Slade said simply, his mask covering any emotion he might have experienced when this was recorded, "My associates and I have been battling you and your kind for far too long. We," He said, sweeping his arms out to show other forms in the shadows. Dick could just barely make out the faces of Lex Luthor and Penguin, before the camera zoomed back in on Slade. "have come to the unanimous conclusion that this has gone on long enough. We declare war on you and your kind. We will raze your cities, burn down everything you seek to protect." The tone in Slade's voice almost sounded half insane to Dick, as he spoke about destruction. "Nothing you hold sacred will be spared. We will reach all the way from Gotham to Paradise Island. And we will destroy you all." He reached forward, and pulled something from off screen. It was a girl, roughly the same age as Dick himself. He recognized her almost immediately. She was Aquagirl, the current sidekick to Aquaman. She had even helped the Titans out once or twice. Slade's voice was thick as he took a knife sheathed at his side, and stabbed it down straight into her throat. Aquagirl's mouth opened, but only blood came out and she scream silently. "Watch your children…" Slade said, before the transmission cut out.
Dick felt his knees shaking, as anger and guilt began to seep through every pore of his being. Bruce had changed into the cape and cowl, and regarded him as the emotionless Batman. "This is why I called you back Robin. Until we take down Deathstroke and the other villains he's joined with, you and all the other younger heroes are in danger." Dick shook his head, and composed himself before speaking.
"Who's Deathstroke?" He asked, trying to gather as much intel as he could before speaking about the real issue. Batman looked a little shocked behind his mask.
"You've fought him all this time and you don't know?" He asked. He paused the recording, and pointed to Slade. "Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke the Terminator. He's a retired military man turned mercenary. Sometime during his stay with the military he was used to test some type of super-soldier serum. It's given him the ability to use up to ninety percent of his brain, as well as what seems to be an advanced healing factor." Dick's head was swirling. The man who he had spent countless nights trying to piece together, trying to figure out whatever detail he could, and it was that simple. Slade was Slade. He had never even brought up the name Deathstroke, not once in any of their confrontations.
"Alright." Dick said, "So I need to go back to Titan's Tower and let the Titans know we need to be on our guard." He reached forward for his costume, but Batman's hand caught his arm.
"No Dick, you're not leaving here until this is resolved. The rest of the league agree, Green Arrow went to Titan's East with Aquaman to get Speedy and Aqualad, and Flash has even tracked down Impulse. Until further notice, you're all relatively 'grounded'."
"What!" Dick scream, trying to wrench free from Batman's vice like grip. Batman was faster though, and with a subtle movement, knocked his other fist into the back of Dick's head. Dick's vision exploded into stars, as darkness quickly enveloped him. Batman picked up his young protégé, looking down at him with a mix of sadness and understanding.
"Alfred, I need you to take Dick to the safety room. Make sure all the locks are secured." Batman said into the mouthpiece in his mask, knowing perfectly well that Alfred was not only listening, but waiting.
"Understood sir, and will I be allowed to give our young prisoner any reading material while he's incarcerated?" The Englishman asked in his disapproving tone. Batman merely grunted, as he carried Dick back up the stairs.
Cyborg grunted as he let himself collapse onto the couch. It was like every villain in Jump City had been alerted to Robin's absence, and had taken that as their cue to attack. Plasmus had broken out three times this week alone, not to mention attacks from the Hive and a few random robberies by Red X. The Titan's were officially beat. Even Starfire, normally very excited and jubilant, looked like she was on the verge of collapsing. Beastboy was currently halfway transformed into a cat, not seeming to have the energy to finish the transformation. Out of all of them, Raven seemed to be the most rested, but Cyborg could see her drifting in and out of sleep from behind her book.
He just counted himself lucky that Slade hadn't even been heard from since the incident with Trigon. Red X and the Hive were almost too much for them to deal with, but Slade… that would be a completely different scenario.
Cyborg was about to head to his room and shutdown for awhile, let his body recharge. Instead, a alarm flashed throughout the tower. There was an almost collective groan from the others, including Raven, who seemed to have been woken up by the loud noise. Cyborg lifted his arm to check the readout, and instantly any fatigue he felt went flying out the window.
"Guys!" He said, jumping off the couch. "That's the alarm we set in Terra's cavern. Someone's messing with the Terra!" Beastboy jumped up, a gleam in his eyes that was reserved specifically for when the issue of Terra came up.
"What're we waiting for? Let's go!" Beastboy said, jumping out an open window and changing into a bird, flying towards the cavern. Starfire flew after him, and Raven enveloped herself and Cyborg in her soulself, which slipped into the shadows and flew through the ether towards Terra.
Dick groggily opened his eyes, to see a mane of red hair above his face. "Ugh, Starfire, what happened?" He asked, wincing slightly as he sat up.
"Starfire huh? You forget my name already Boy Wonder?" That wasn't Star's voice. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Barbara was bent down, smiling at him. He shook his head, slowly sitting up. The last thing he remembered was watching the recording in the Batcave and then arguing with Batman, and then….
"He hit me! Bruce sucker punched me!" He said, everything coming back in a flash.
"Yep, then he had Alfred lock you in here with me. Looks like we're roommates for the time being." Barbara said, jumping off of his bed into a perfect back flip and landing on the ground. Dick would've been impressed with Barbara's increase in acrobatics if it wasn't for the fact that he was practically seething with anger. "Hey, calm down Dick. Bruce just doesn't want anything to happen to you."
"Of course he doesn't, he'd hate to have another death on his conscience." Dick retorted, instantly regretting it. He knew it wasn't true, but his anger had overcome him. He owed too much to Bruce for that. Barbara gave him a disapproving stare before walking around the bed.
"Well then, since you're so sociable right now, I guess I'll just excuse myself. Our rooms are interconnected, we each have a bathroom. Alfred will bring us our meals." She said, retreating to the door that lead to her room.
"Wait, Babs… I'm sorry, this is just too much at once. Plus I'm worried about the Titans…" He left that hanging. His leaving to join the Titans had been the one deciding factor in the two of them not starting anything other than a friendly relationship. Sometimes Dick wondered what may have happened had he not started the Titans.
But that thought always ended as quickly as it began. He'd realized a long time ago he felt nothing but brotherly affection for Babs. Of course, that didn't make it any less uncomfortable for him to be locked in a small apartment setting with her.
Barbara picked up on the uncomfortable silence and smiled. "Well, you'll probably want to get showered Boy Wonder. Alfred refuses to feed us until after we're hygienic."
Dick smiled. "Regular old-time warden he is." He stood up, and walked toward the bathroom.
The Titans looked around the cavern for the fourth time, still not finding any trace of the intruder. "Cy, c'mon maybe it really is" Beastboy started for the sixth time, before Cyborg cut him off.
"No man, it jus ain't possible. Someone had to have taken her, if she could've freed herself, she would've contacted us." Cyborg said, starting to get a little irritated at the changeling's insistence.
"Not necessarily Cyborg." Raven said from near where Terra's entombed form once stood. "Considering the circumstances we were under when she was frozen, she might have wanted to just get away." Cyborg thought about it. This just wasn't his thing. There was no sign of any tech being used, or at least nothing his scanners could pick up. They needed Robin for this.
"I think it's time someone went back and drug birdboy's butt back here to help us." Cyborg said, looking around the cave once more. Starfire's eyes immediately beamed.
"Yes! Of course, Robin would be of much help in the sleuthing for clues for friend Terra! I will go and fetch him at once!" Starfire said, starting to levitate out of the cave.
"Wait a minute Star!" Raven interjected, appearing between the alien and the entrance. "I think I should go get him. I'll be a lot faster, and time is of the essence."
"Oh no friend Raven, friend Cyborg and friend Beastboy need you here to help them look for the clues. I can make better time than a Tamaranian B'xnark, I'll have friend Robin here in two of the earth seconds." Starfire countered her eyes hardening as she looked at her friend. Raven returned the glare.
"But I can lock onto the bond him and I share and find him instantly. Gotham is a lot bigger than Jump City Starfire." Raven responded. Beastboy yelped as a nearby rock shattered into multiple pieces, black tendril of energy radiating from it. Cyborg looked curiously at the two, a sudden understanding beginning to dawn on the "big brother" of the Titans. Unfortunately, they're bickering was taking up precious time.
"I'm sorry Starfire, but Raven's right. You've never even been to Gotham before; it could take you hours to find Robin. His communicator's turned off, so Raven's the only one who can track him right now."
Starfire visibly drooped at this, but nodded her head in agreement. Cyborg could have sworn he saw Raven's mouth turn just slightly at the corners. A ghost of a smile, before she enveloped herself in the black energy and disappeared.
Dick reached down and turned off the hot water, before stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel. He wrapped it around his waist, before reaching for the hair gel on the counter. He squirted some in his hands, and then quickly ran it through his hair. After he was satisfied with his results, he dropped the towel and reached for his boxers.
"Robin?" Raven called out as she appeared in the steamy bathroom. Dick turned in surprise, his mask-less eyes widening in surprise, before they both realized he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. He quickly covered his private area with the boxers, blushing furiously. Raven backed off, a slight blush on her cheeks, obviously embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry Robin, I didn't know you were um… busy…" She quickly turned around, facing the wall.
Dick just groaned, as he put the boxers and blue jeans on. It was just shaping up to be one of those days.
A/N: Well, that's it for this chapter. Next chapter features more Batman/Robin confrontations, as well as the end of yet another sidekick, but this one a little closer to home. There will be more Raven/Robin in the next chapter, but there should be some Robin/Starfire also. Sorry this chapter took so long, I had to rewrite Slade's message about six times before I was finally satisfied by it. Until next time, REVIEW!
Running through the icy wasteland, wielding a reflective halberd, cometh ssjgokillo! And he gives a low howl:
"Vengeance and goo flow from my veins! I burn with the holy fires of destruction!"