Sorry I haven't updated for ages; I'd say I was too busy, but I'd be lying… Been working on Small Print with Narroch06, though, and a brand new one-shot all about Cyborg (Flaws, if anyone likes Cy enough to want to read a fic solely about him. Robin's in there too, though; it's NOT slash…), so…

Yeah…

You know, I've never disclaimed anything on here that I've written. So, um… I don't own Teen Titans, or Batman, or anything else that I clearly swiped.

Obviously.

Yay; kiss-ass time…

To YamiTai (yup, Batman has entered the building, and Robin had better kiss his ass goodbye…); to Rocky Wolf (thanks for continued support, bubbie! Enjoying The RockySlade Story!); to Phoenix Skyborne (so that's why you took algebra. I should have known you wouldn't take it off your own back… Updated Small Print, BTW); to Quinn (your suspicions about the key to the Orb of Azarath? So wrong, witch-hunter! So wrong!); to DarkMarkLv (yay! You came back to me! Yeah, I like Terra, and she will be in it a bit later on in the story. Actually, she's really important. Sorry to everyone who hates her; why doesn't anyone like her?); to Narroch06, my partner-in-crime (Small Print is looking more beautiful than ever! And, uh… enjoy this, too. This is how I met ya, right?); to Sketch a.k.a-Jessie Carlson (you reviewed chapter one, so here's hoping you're here by now… Glad you like it, though!); and to, um… Dookie (why am I reminded of Star Wars?… Oh yeah; wookies… Here's your update!).

Yami no Kaiba… come back! Oh, how I miss your morbidly-amused way of shooting me down… And there's plenty of Small Print to entertain ya now, including a very "special" chapter 5…

Alexnandru Van Gordon; there's NO MORE SLASH, I promise!

Argh… Slade! Batman! The Titans! Let's get with it, people!

The Avenger's Destiny

"Having fun?"

Robin jumped at the sound of Slade's cold, soft voice, the action sending a shooting pain through his damaged chest. He had been so engrossed he hadn't heard Slade open the door and enter, not heard him close it behind him. The Boy Wonder looked up to see Slade leaning against the closed metal door, half-obscured by shadow, the spotlight picking out brilliant highlights in other places. His arms were folded lazily, and he appeared to be in no hurry to finish his murder contract; on the contrary, he seemed quite amused by what he had found, namely Sherlock Holmes Junior doing what he did best.

Robin slowly put the translation down on the metal desk on top of the original parchment, not taking his masked eyes off Slade for a second.

"I suppose I owe you yet another apology," Slade said quietly, the amusement in his voice evident. "I underestimated you; you are far cleverer than I thought. Who would have thought that you would have come here, of all the rooms and corridors in this asylum? But… here you are, and you seem to have discovered my little secret."

"You mean this?" Robin picked up the orb again, removing it from its silver nest. He held it out, his fingertips gripping it loosely.

"You have to admit I did a good job of stealing it."

Robin scowled. Yes, come to think of it, it had been an excellent theft; he had noticed it when doing the inquiry with Beast Boy, how expertly the system had been disabled, better than even Cyborg could have done, and that was definitely saying something. But Slade hadn't crossed his mind at all, moreover because he couldn't think what Slade would have wanted with the stolen orb in the first place. At least now it was a little more clear; power.

"I'd congratulate you if I didn't hate you so much," the Titan replied icily. Slade shrugged offhandedly.

"Tell me what you know," he said, his tone almost taunting. "What have you worked out? You must have figured it out by now, Robin."

Robin cocked his head.

"Worked out what?" He dropped the orb heavily back into its cradle. Slade nodded towards the sheets of paper adorning the metal desk.

"Well, my little prophecy there, for a start," he said languidly. "Surely you'll have realised by now that there is more to it than would first appear."

Robin nodded slowly, deciding it best to play along with Slade's seemingly-civil mood.

"Then you should understand things more clearly now. Why I had to do what I did."

Robin arched an eyebrow quizzically, watching Slade's every movement – or lack of.

"No." His other eyebrow joined the first. "Why would this have anything to do with-"

He was cut short as Slade snorted in disgust.

"Well, I must say I'm disappointed. Maybe I didn't underestimate you after all."

Robin's eyebrows dropped again as he scowled.

"Maybe you didn't, but I still can't see-"

"Then look," Slade interrupted him again. "Read it more carefully… Mr Bond." He smirked beneath his mask, the "Bond" being a sarcastic afterthought.

Robin looked at him for a long moment, hating him, then lowered his eyes to the translation on the desk. He read down it again, and again and again, trying to take it in and process it, to understand it as more than it appeared, look beyond the metaphors, if that was what it truly was.

And then, halfway through reading it for the fifth time, it finally hit him. Something Slade had said… what was it? About Robin needing a key to unlock his full potential, because at the moment he wasn't in possession of it?... And the compliments, about Robin being clever; the sarcastic "Mr Bond", as in secret agent, detective… Everything fitted; Slade's theft of the Orb of Azarath; it was a vessel of extreme power, placing the apocalypse at the command of the one who unlocked it, the translated prophecy stating the uprisal of the "Avenger", who would ultimately stop the reckoning from happening unless he was so killed following the impure tainting of his soul to tarnish the bond he held between the mortal gods and the world which they protected.

It had taken him long enough, but he understood. Little clues. Slade's hint at the needing of an unpossessed key, as in the key to the orb's power and not Robin himself. The rape. Sexual tainting of the soul…

He was the damn "Avenger". Just his luck; as if he didn't have enough to deal with. Now he had an apocalypse to stop, or die trying.

Yay…

But Slade didn't have the key. Right, yeah, but he had tried to butter his rape-victim up, hadn't he? Tried to trick him into joining him, because if Robin was "oh-so-clever" he could work out and find the key to the orb. Then, doubtlessly, Slade would have killed him in his sleep after his guard was down and fulfilled the last part of the prophecy. Yeah, that seemed typical of Slade. Use the kid to his advantage, gain his trust, then kill him. After all, what apprentice would expect to be murdered by their trusted master?

So, key found, Avenger bumped off and power unleashed. He didn't even want to start imagining the horrors of what came next. But… did it really all rest on his shoulders? There were the Titans to stop him, and the Justice League, and…

…And the mortal gods would be stripped of their powers. Mortal gods as in "Titans". Mortal gods as in Wonder Woman, daughter of the goddess Hippolyta and so a goddess in her own right. The superheroes – all of them – would be rendered powerless.

That is so not good…

Robin leaned back in the metal chair, trying to allow it to sink in. Even now it still hadn't fully registered with him that he had been raped, but this… He didn't want this; he didn't need this. He didn't want for his destiny to have been mapped out centuries ago. And more to the point, his basic crime-fighter training had not covered how to stop an apocalypse.

"Well?"

Robin slowly looked up at Slade, hating him even more, if that was at all possible. He glared balefully at his nemesis for a second or two, then suddenly reached out with his good hand and took the Orb of Azarath from it's silver cradle once more, gripping it tightly and holding it a fair distance from the hard floor.

"I say I drop this little orb, smash it to bits and stop this whole thing before it even begins," he spat. Slade's single grey eye widened ever so slightly.

"On the contrary, Robin, it's already begun."

He moved so suddenly and quickly Robin didn't have time to react; one second Slade was leaning lazily against the door, the next he was launching himself through the air directly at Robin's face. Robin dived out of the chair and rolled just as Slade smashed into the desk, missing him by a scant few inches. The Boy Wonder still held the orb tightly in his left hand as he whipped around and ducked a roundhouse kick aimed at his head. Pain screamed in his chest again with every movement, his broken hand throbbed painfully as he tried to clench it into a fist. Slade backhanded him and he staggered against the wall, couldn't sidestep quick enough as Slade grasped him around the throat and lifted him clear from the floor, pushing him against the wall and strangling him. Robin's grip on the fragile little orb loosened and Slade plucked it from the air as the Titan dropped it, releasing the boy as he did so. Robin stumbled forwards, massaging his neck, then straightened up, twisting his entire torso into his most powerful punch. Slade caught his arm, swept him off-balance and threw him headlong at the desk. Robin collided painfully with the metal desk and rolled off it onto the floor, where he landed in a crumpled heap; the Joker's criminal record and three pieces of paper concerning the orb – prophecy, translation and newspaper cutting – all fluttered off the desk on top of him.

Slade's shadow fell across his fallen form and he heard distinctly that the villain was placing the orb back into it's cradle.

"Believe me, I am truly sorry that it must be this way, Robin," Slade said, not sounding remorseful in the slightest. "Must be annoying, being handed such a responsibility, but the truth is that you were born to prevent this reckoning." Slade paused. "And I was born to kill you and fulfil the prophecy. No hard feelings."

"Where did you get it?" Robin asked breathlessly, throwing the yellowed prophecy to one side. "Who gave you the prophecy? Who translated it for you? Who told you that… that I was the Avenger?"

"I don't think that's your concern," Slade replied lightly. "And don't rip my prophecy."

For some reason Robin could feel insatiable anger overtaking his feelings of confusion and bewilderment.

"Do you understand what you have gotten yourself in to?" He spat, getting to his knees. "You shouldn't mess about with this kind of thing."

Slade was extremely amused.

"Listen to you; you sound like my mother."

"What mother could ever love you?" Robin retorted, his voice shaking with anger. "After what you've done?"

"What have I done?"

Robin stared at him in utter exasperation.

"You… you… what do you… You raped me, for godssakes!" Robin shrieked, finally snapping. "And you did it because of this! Because of greed, a lust for power… You did it because a piece of paper told you to!"

"I don't recall denying it," Slade said calmly. "But it had to be done, and now you know why. The seer told me you couldn't be a virgin or the prophecy would fail to be fulfilled."

"But I wasn't a virgin when I walked in here!" Robin yelled, getting to his feet and leaning against the desk. He hadn't told anyone, he and Raven had made a secret vow to keep it a "secret between birds" for as long as they lived. But now he was standing here yelling it at Slade, of all people, because suddenly the vow made no difference; Slade had raped him and it hadn't even been necessary.

Slade paled slightly beneath his mask.

"You… you weren't?"

Of course, the seer had said that, reminded him that Robin was a male teenager with more hormones than he could cope with. But Slade truly hadn't thought that Robin… well, Bird-boy just didn't seem the type.

"When?" Slade asked weakly. Ok, a little too personal there, but he had to know. Because if that damn seer had known all along, then…

Robin hesitated in giving his answer; he didn't owe Slade that kind of information.

"A few months ago," he answered truthfully after a few second's awkward silence. The silence reigned again as the words left his lips.

"I didn't know," Slade said eventually; he sounded genuinely sorry. "If I had known I… I wouldn't have done it."

But she had known; that seer had known. She must have done. She knew just about everything else…

And she had let him do it; in fact, she had led him to believe that it was necessary. She had hinted at the idea in the first place. Almost like… like she found it amusing, entertaining even. But why?

"Was it really necessary?" Robin asked patronisingly, his tone soft. "Did you want power that badly that you would…?" He trailed off, knowing it was a stupid question; Slade had already proved the affirmative.

"Destiny calls, Robin," was Slade's only reply. "And I'm afraid that it once again sees us as enemies. If you won't help me find the key then I'll just kill you now."

"What, join you so you can kill me when I turn my back on you?" Robin asked; he snorted with forced laughter. "Not your best idea…"

Slade shrugged his broad shoulders.

"Maybe not," he agreed. "But the prophecy must be fulfilled, and so you must die, my little Avenger…"

Slade snapped a kick to Robin's chest, sending the boy to the floor where he moaned and curled up, clutching at his broken rib. Slade approached and stood over the quivering Titan as he struggled to his knees, his previously exhausted and beaten state returning immediately. Slade kicked him back down as he tried to get up and Robin swept his feet from under him as he did so. Slade lost his balance and tumbled into a roll while Robin scrambled to his feet and dived headlong for his yellow utility belt several feet away. He caught it as he rolled, scraping to a halt, going through it desperately.

Staff, staff, staff…

Not there. Of course; those damn mercenaries of Slade's had kicked it out of his grip.

Birdarang!

He grabbed two just as Slade was upon him, taking one in each hand, the grip in his broken right weak and painful. He used them like knives, the way Batman had taught him to use batarangs in the same way. He swung them upwards in a slashing "X" movement; Slade parried one on his metal arm guard, but Robin heard him grunt in pain as the other tore through his outfit and sank into his skin. Slade grasped his broken right and twisted it so that Robin shrieked in pain and promptly dropped the weapon. Slade knee-hauled him in the gut and the boy crumpled again, still holding on grim-death to his one remaining birdarang.

He couldn't lose, he just couldn't, not if this prophecy-thing was real; he simply couldn't afford to die. It sounded arrogant but by the looks of it the whole world depended on his survival. If he died, the Avenger, then there would be no-one to prevent the reckoning… not that he had any idea how he was going to prevent it anyway. But it was the principal.

He hauled himself to his feet, his determination not, as was usually typical of him, to win, but not to die. If he got out of here clinging to life by a fraying thread then he would class it as a victory in his favour. He twisted the birdarang over in his grip, wishing that his left hand had been broken instead of his stronger right hand. He swung it upwards in an arc… and was cut short in the blow as he heard metal scraping against metal and suddenly the birdarang couldn't move any further. He looked up and saw that Slade had the other birdarang of the pair and had parried Robin's arc against it. Now the two red metal bird-shaped throwing stars were locked against each other, their wings jammed in the awkwardest of angles. Robin put all of his remaining strength into a forced continuation of his arc, but Slade was pushing back against him, the tip of the wing of Robin's own birdarang being forced closer and closer towards his throat. Robin grounded himself, spreading his weight, gritting his teeth as his every muscle burned with the effort, felt sweat beading on his forehead as he tried to force it away and sink Slade's birdarang into his chest. His right hand was joining in the effort too in his desperate attempt not to die but was making little difference; Slade was stronger anyway, being an adult against a teenager, both of his hands were uninjured and he wasn't anywhere near as beaten and battered as Robin was. It was inevitable that he would win eventually but Robin refused to give in, vowing to hold out until he collapsed with the effort. But it was inching slowly closer to his jugular and he couldn't hold out much longer.

"This is where we part ways, Robin," Slade hissed. "Go to hell…"

And then there was a huge explosion of green light from behind them, shattering the far wall and sending the pair of them sprawling across the floor along with chunks of plaster and numerous criminal records. The two birdarangs clattered on the floor and were lost underneath a pile of broken plaster. Robin moaned as he landed on top of his right hand but thankfully was spared much more pain in his ribcage.

"Robin!"

Starfire's voice, frantic and high-pitched. Ah, yes; green explosion. Truly the work of the Tamaranean girl.

"Robbie, you ok!"

Cyborg.

But how had they found him! He had specifically ensured that they had no way of tracking him; of course he had later regretted that, but still…

He dragged himself to his knees, coughing on the plaster dust. A green rat scurried over to him and promptly morphed into a very concerned Beast Boy.

"Jeez, Robin, way to scare the hell outta us!" The shape-shifter said breathlessly. "You ok, dude?"

Robin opened his mouth to reply and started to cough again.

"Been better," he said breathlessly after the coughing fit finally subsided. Beast Boy's pointed ears twitched slightly, but he didn't get a chance to reply as Starfire suddenly appeared beside him and shoved him out of the way. She threw her arms around Robin, her alien grip excruciating on his broken rib as she clung to him and started to sob into his shoulder. He tried not to scream but he couldn't help it; she was hurting him terribly and she didn't even realise it.

"Starfire, move. He's injured."

Raven's crisp, expressionless voice issued from behind them as she crouched down and roughly pulled Starfire loose from the Boy Wonder. Starfire fell back, still sobbing, and Cyborg put a hand on her shoulder. Raven knelt down next to Robin and took his shoulders, shaking him a little.

"Robin, where are you hurt?" She asked, her tone deadly serious and business-like. Robin grimaced, indicating his broken rib, then his hand. Actually, he hurt all over, but mostly it was nothing that wouldn't heal by itself. Raven nodded and placed one hand gently on his broken rib; he squeaked a little in agony as she put pressure on it and whispered her spell, taking the pain into her own body and then banishing it. He breathed out heavily, feeling relief flooding through him as she turned her attention to his hand and repeated the procedure.

"Thanks, Raven," he said softly as she removed her hand. She nodded silently, then brushed a strand of jet hair from his sweaty forehead.

"Robin, what the hell happened?" Cyborg asked hoarsely, offering Robin a hand to pull him to his feet. Robin accepted it and stood, Raven rising with him.

And they all saw his clothes.

"God, Robin… your clothes…" Beast Boy whispered. He looked up at the team leader. "Robbie… please, please don't say that you… you said you would do the whole apprentice-thing again… we can work it out, you don't have to do anything Slade says…"

Robin smiled faintly as he looked at them each in turn.

"No, it's ok," he said softly. "I'd die before I would become his apprentice again."

It suddenly dawned on him and whipped around, looking frantically for Slade. He cursed under his breath; he couldn't believe it. Slade was gone, and so was… he looked wildly at the desk. The prophecy, the translation and the Orb of Azarath were all gone too. How on earth could the entire team have let Slade pick up his stuff and just walk out; what the hell was wrong with them!

They were good friends; that was what was wrong with them. They had all been too busy fussing over Robin to notice the villain slip past them.

"Slade isn't here, Robin," Cyborg said, as though reading his friend's mind. "If he was here at all, he's gone."

"I noticed." For once, Robin didn't mind that Slade had escaped him. Well, not as much as he usually did. This bought him more time to work out this prophecy-Avenger-apocalypse thing.

"Oh, Robin, we have been so worried about you!" Starfire cried, rushing forwards and embracing him once again. "We could not track you and we thought you were hurt and we were so scared! Do not ever, ever do this again!"

Robin said nothing, simply let her hold on to him. He couldn't make such promises, not now that he had an apocalypse to prevent. Of course, he'd tell them about the prophecy; they had a right to know, especially if his death meant that they would lose their powers. But he was the Avenger; he was the only one who could stop this thing.

"Robin, how could you do this to us?" Cyborg asked sadly. "You've done this before, but… don't you realise how much it frightens us when you do this? Knowing that we might turn up… too late?"

Robin couldn't answer him straightaway.

"I'm sorry," he said finally, his voice small and soft. "I really am. I don't… I don't mean to scare you. I don't do it to deliberately frighten you. I just-"

"You just do it," Raven interrupted quietly. "You don't think through the consequences, or our feelings, or your own safety. You just do it anyway."

"But the letter-" Robin started to protest.

"Yeah, we know all about the letter, dude," Beast Boy interrupted him again. "The one from "Batman"."

Robin blinked.

"How do you know about that?"

Raven indicated to Starfire.

"Starfire found it in your trashcan," she said flatly.

"Next to it," Starfire corrected softly. "And I found your apologetic note and your communicator and other things that I was not able to identify."

"Oh." Robin bit his lip, realising that he pretty much owed Starfire his life; had she not found the stuff and the crumpled letter, the Titans would not have come bursting in and doubtlessly he, Robin, would be already dead…

"Look, I-"

"You're sorry," Cyborg finished for him. "Yeah, we know. But it didn't stop you."

Silence spread throughout the demolished room.

"Let's… let's go home," Robin said eventually, a little uneasily; truthfully, he was unsure if they would still regard him as an authoritive figure, especially considering he was proving to be a lousy leader.

"We can't yet," Cyborg informed him. "We have to wait for Batman to come and find us."

Robin froze.

"Batman? He's… what the heck is Batman doing here!"

"We almost ran him over on the way here," Beast Boy explained. "Cy was driving like a maniac to get here and Bats just leaped out in front of us at the corner of 27th street, chasing some small-time crook, and when he'd recovered from almost being knocked flat he wanted to know what we were doing and more to the point where you were so we told him and he insisted on coming, especially as the crook had impersonated him."

"So where is he now?" Robin pressed.

"We found another crumpled note at the doorway of the asylum," Cyborg took over, "and we uncrumpled it and it was to you from "Batman" saying to meet him in the south wing recreational hall, so the real Batman headed off there while we came here to get you."

"And you knew I was here how?"

"I could sense your presence," Raven informed Robin quietly. "Starfire was getting a bit hysterical by that point and she just blasted the wall down."

"Batsy is waaay mad at you, by the way," Beast Boy chipped in. Robin nodded curtly.

"I can imagine." And he could; unfortunately.

"Where are your actual clothes?" Cyborg asked. "Why are you wearing that thing?"

Robin shrugged offhandedly; he would never tell them for as long as he lived; which, ironically, wouldn't be very long if Slade had anything to do with it. But, somehow, if he kept it to himself, it didn't seem so real. Of course, it still hadn't properly sunk in yet, but when it did… well, perhaps Slade killing him would have been a mercy. And the homosexual thing… he wished there was some way of burning the memory from his mind, because it played over and over, torturing him… If only he could understand what had taken over him, and Slade too. Because there was something not right about that whole thing, and it made him feel uneasy as well as grossed-out and utterly disgusted with himself for going along with it.

"Robin; glad to see you in one piece."

Batman's cowled-and-caped figure appeared in the doorway of the wrecked room, the unconscious Joker slung over one broad shoulder. In his other hand he held two things and he tossed them both at his ex-sidekick's feet. One was Robin's staff; the other was a large scrap of red material with the "R" badge still intact. Robin looked down at them, his blood slowly freezing, then slowly moved his gaze up to Batman.

"Something you'd like to share with us?" Batman asked dangerously. Robin opened his mouth but his words died in his throat. His first thought was that Batman knew what had happened, but then he realised… that Batman seemed disgusted with him and so he assumed that Robin had… had actually…

It sunk in then, and it hurt. It was hard on the head, and hard on the heart. But there was no way of changing it. Slade had raped him, sexually violated him, and yet Batman – Batman - thought that he had gone along with it. That was more painful than perhaps anything, that his… not father, but almost, would misconceive it so badly. But he couldn't explain it, because that would mean telling him the real story, and telling the Titans, and he didn't want to say anything because it made the pain all the more real.

"I asked you a question, Robin," Batman said sharply. Again Robin was unable to utter a sound and simply shook his head mutely.

"Robin. What the hell is going on?" Cyborg asked loudly.

"Nothing…" Robin squeaked; he felt like they were all closing in on him, even though the only one actually close to him was Starfire, and she was looking at him quizzically, her emerald eyes wide. He stepped backwards away from her, away from them all.

Batman's expression softened and he dropped the unconscious Joker to the floor.

"Robin? Are you… alright?" He asked. Robin put his head in his hands.

"No… I just… you don't understand…" he moaned.

"Then explain," Batman countered softly. Robin shook his head.

"I can't… because I don't… I don't understand…"

Batman paused for a second, then crossed the floor in a few easy strides, his scalloped cape flowing behind him. He put his arms around his ex-sidekick and pulled him to his chest,

"It's ok," he said softly. "Just tell me what happened."

His grip… it was so strong, yet gentle, should have been comforting, but it reminded him… He remembered, before Slade had even touched him, noticing how similarly built the villain and the Dark Knight were, and now he was being pressed to that chest… Batman's hand was touching his hair gently…

He hated it. He couldn't stand it. It frightened him. If he closed his eyes it was like Slade touching him again.

He slammed his hands into Batman's chest, shoving him away with all of his strength.

"Stop it!" He screamed at the Dark Knight. "You don't understand!"

He pushed past his ex-mentor, stepped over his staff and utility belt and headed for the door. He had to leave, had to get away…

He was roughly jerked backwards as Cyborg grabbed hold of his wrist.

"For god's sake, Robin!" The half-robot snapped. "Where the hell do you think you're going now! You owe us an explanation here!"

"Let go!" Robin shrieked hysterically at him, trying to tug his wrist out of his friend's strong grip. Cyborg clung on but seconds later Raven appeared at his side.

"Let him go, Cyborg," she said softly. "Do not keep him here; bad feelings tie him to this place."

"Don't side with him, Raven!" Cyborg yelled. "He's a lunatic! We can't just let him go storming about wherever he likes!"

"No, Raven is right," Batman reprimanded calmly. "Let him go, Cyborg."

Cyborg let go of Robin's wrist, disgusted. Robin took one last look at them all and fled down the corridor, and through the maze of corridors, his mind feeling like an asylum itself. He burst outside, found the gates already open and found his bike. He was just going through the motions; every fibre in his body cried for peace and darkness and loneliness so that he could come to grips with everything. He needed to go to his room and lie on his bed in the dark and just think.

He needed to understand.

"There are things that happened tonight that he will never share with anyone," Batman said softly, addressing the remaining Titans. "We may never know. But I can tell you now that in this short space of time he has changed. He is not the same Robin you knew before he came here tonight, you must understand that."

He picked up Robin's belt and staff, then the ripped piece of material stating "R" and handed them all to a tearful Starfire.

"I know that you are all angry with him," the Dark Knight went on, "and rightly so; I am furious with him. He's selfish in things like this and that cannot continually be forgiven. But any friendship and understanding you can offer him at the moment, don't begrudge him it. He's going to need it. I'm sure that you don't need me to explain to you what happened here tonight, and don't try to force Robin to either. It isn't fair to expect him to talk about it. I have no idea how this will affect him long-term but you have to realise that it will affect him somehow. I just hope that it isn't in a bad way."

The four Titans simply stared at him, understanding in these scant words what had happened. They all knew that Robin wouldn't appreciate pity, but they couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Robin doesn't need superheroes," Batman stated quietly. "He doesn't need you to track down Slade and exact revenge on him. He needs friends."

"We'll be there for him," Beast Boy assured him.

Batman smiled faintly.

"I know you will. He doesn't realise how lucky he is to have friends like you. I wish I had had such friends when I was his age. Alas, I was a loner."

He turned away and recovered the Joker.

"Look after him for me, ok?"

He looked at them one last time, then left as Robin had, trailing the Joker after him; they could tell by his step that the violation on his "son" had cut him deep.

And they gazed after him, feeling terrible for Robin… and sorry for Batman too.

That's the last time Bats will be in it for ages… Actually, we're almost there now. Just three chapters or so to go before I can stick on Part 2, Black Magic, where all the fun/magic/prophecy stuff begins to happen…

Next chapter; Robin begins to spiral in temporary-craziness, and the Titans all bitch… I mean, discuss him and what he has been through… Upcoming; temper tantrums, a fall-out between Robin and Starfire, and a whole box of designer clothes…

Yeah, I'm excited too…

Small Print is updated, plus addition of Cy-fic Flaws, if anyone cares…

Ta-ta for now, darlings!