Tim knew Conner was probably right about not disturbing Raven, but that fact alone made him reckless enough to ignore common sense. He told himself he'd seen horrors…heck, he worked with Batman, who scared most people, including Conner, senseless. Yeah, that's it, he thought. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand to knock on the door to the office Raven had commandeered as a meditation space. Before his knuckles even connected, the door swung open. Raven raised an eyebrow at him and gestured for him to enter. He did so, noting the incense and candles still burning.

"You ok?" He asked, turning to eye her critically. She was even paler than usual but, at his question, she narrowed her eyes, face flushing with barely suppressed irritation.

"I could ask you the same question." Tim shrugged. He'd known she would sense his inner turmoil, and had decided before he'd even sought her out that it was just something he'd have to accept.

"I'm fine." He lied. "Conner seemed to think you were pretty shaken up, though." She averted her eyes.

"I'm not going to apologize." When he said nothing, she continued, "he shouldn't have gone off on his own. It was a chance to find out more information about Johnny Warren's demon." She told herself to stop babbling.

"I'm not arguing with you, Raven." At her dubious look, Tim sighed. "I agree, Conner's actions were rash…as were yours…but I can see where both of you were coming from. The important thing now is making sure you're ok, and to use any information you managed to gather to prevent him from having the upper hand again." She nodded thoughtfully.

"You want the full version, or the synopsis?"

"I would probably get more out of the full version, but since everyone else is going to want to hear about it as well, we'll save it. Just the basics."

"Fine. Basics…he's strong. Very strong. The demon is, I mean. Warren is…well, I'm not sure if he was unstable before being possessed, but…"

"He wasn't." She raised a brow at his curt interruption and confident certainty.

"Then something has happened since you last encountered him, because he is definitely unstable now. His mind is so warped…"

"Gee, ya think it could be having a demon living inside his head?"

"Possible. But this is a powerful and intelligent being we're talking about. The demon would not possess a body it needs in a way that's going to weaken it…and therefore himself."

"You're saying this…mental illness is caused by something else…something that could be used as a weakness?" She nodded, opening her mouth to continue, but Tim had turned away, muttering to himself. "But what's causing it?"

"I don't know. The demon sensed me before I could dig deep enough. Possibly it really is simply the fact that the demon has possessed him…the human mind is not made to take such stress. Perhaps that was just the last…or first… straw in a chain leading up to this condition. But as a weakness, it's useless to us unless we know what lies behind it." Tim nodded.

"So…we get you close again. Now that you know what you're looking for…use the rest of the team as distractions. Keep hitting him from all sides…don't give Warren or the demon time to notice you."

"That could work, but…" she broke off, sensing Tim wasn't listening, but rather making plans. She sighed. Her objections would have fallen on deaf ears anyway…Titans stuck together, regardless of the danger.


It wouldn't appear to the average observer that the attack had taken over three hours to plan. All anyone…anyone not fleeing the scene in terror, that is…would see would be Superboy flying in and attacking Warren for no apparent reason. Wonder Girl came from the back of the run down bar they found him in…Kid Flash vibrating down through the roof, landing a couple nice blows to Warren's head as he landed. Raven, hidden within the shadows, waited for the team to attract enough of Warren's attention to allow her to sneak into his thoughts. And Batgirl...under much protest…also stood back, watching Warren's every move.

Robin had planned it all out, to the tiniest detail. The one thing he hadn't planned on was being turned on by his own team. They had been unanimous…Robin wasn't to come near the site…not this time. Their arguments had been well-thought-out…Tim didn't have powers….he had already nearly been fried by Warren once…he would be their ace in the pocket. All logical. And all completely and totally useless.

Tim gave them credit…but he wasn't about to be kept from apprehending his father's killer. And what if they found Warren's weakness during the fight and could exploit it? They wouldn't just let him go…get Tim…and come back to finish the job! No. This had all started with him. Robin would be part of the mission.

As he watched his team methodically attacking Johnny Warren, Robin mentally ran the plan through his head. He was waiting…watching, much like Batgirl and Raven. But he wasn't gathering data…not consciously, at least. True, his training was so deeply ingrained that he instinctively picked up on little cues…things Warren did. Such as always faking left before lashing out with a kick. Or the slight twitch of his right eye just before he let his power loose.

Which he wasn't doing as often as Robin would have thought. Narrowing his eyes, he watched him lash out with the golden energy at Superboy only to have Kid Flash zoom in and catch him in a cross wind, spinning him and messing up his aim. Then again, considering what happened last time Robin had run into him…Robin suspected that the Demon, as powerful as he was, had a limited amount of power. That was why Warren had seemed to have been sucked dry…dead…last time. He'd learned from that encounter and was trying to fight back without using more energy than he absolutely had to. Another flash lanced out…he was weakening. Robin leaned forward…was this it?

Deciding it was time to make his appearance, he dropped nimbly down from the rafter he'd been crouched on, landing in such a way to draw attention to himself. He wanted Warren to know why he was under attack and who it was who would ultimately defeat him.

"Robin." The name hissed out from between suddenly clenched teeth. The assassin had told him Robin was dead…had to be dead. He had let himself be convinced that the reports of Robin's continued presence in Gotham was as everyone said…a replacement. Someone new.

"Warren. Seems you and I have some unfinished business." There was a cold fire burning in the pit of his stomach. For an instant he saw Warren's body lying lifeless on the floor…recognized the scene from his own home when he'd walked in and found his father. Shaking the image…he didn't have time for memories and revenge had no place here… he drew out his bo staff. Warren shot him a brief sneer…the other Titans holding back for the moment, waiting.

Taking a deep breath, Robin made the first move…moving faster than even he thoughtpossible, he pushed off with his staff, lashing out with his foot. He connected solidly with Warren's head, sending the other man flying. Warren picked himself up and shot bolts of energy in Robin's direction. Since he was expecting it this time, Robin managed to dodge… just barely. As he came back for another round he noticed Warren muttering to himself. He had done that before, Robin remembered. Talking to his demon.

Warren turned, ripping a table from the floor with his powers and heaving it at Robin. He missed, but the table went through the wall, causing them to buckle threateningly. The resulting cave-in kept Robin and the Titans busy getting the few remaining bystanders out of the way and when the dust had cleared Warren was gone.

"Come on…" Robin tried to wade through the rubble, chasing after Warren, but Superboy's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Let him go. We got what we need." Robin glanced over to where Batgirl and Raven had been concealed. They were out in the open now, and Batgirl gave a brief nod at his inquiring glance, but still he resisted a moment more. He'd had Warren…they should finish the job now. Reason…and the fact that he was sounding a bit too much like Kid Flash inside his own head…finally won out. After all, they'd come on a fact-finding mission…building their groundwork to take Warren out in the final battle. If they'd managed to defeat him in the process, great. Since they hadn't

"Right. Let's regroup."


They gathered around the table in the warehouse, again using crates and boxes as chairs. Tim gave a brief but heartfelt wish that they were back in Titans Tower with a full conference room complete with table, chairs, computers, displays…everything they really needed. But, since they weren't back in Titan's Tower…they'd make do.

He kept his face impassive even as he mentally grimaced as he catalogued his teammates' various injuries. They would deny it, he was sure, but he knew he was responsible…he caught Cass looking at him with a funny expression and cleared his throat, deciding he'd better deflect her attention before she drew attention to his guilt.

"Ok. So….impressions?" All eyes turned his way, like a class full of students looking to the teacher for direction. No one said a word. He sighed. "Anything? Come on, guys… Raven?" His teammates collectively switched their gaze towards Raven, who flicked her own attention to Cass. Correctly interpreting this as having been elected to point out the conclusion both she and Raven had come to, she drew a deep breath and looked Tim straight in the eye.

"It's you."

"Huh?" Tim was pretty sure the word had come from his mouth, though he'd also heard a few other voices chiming in…everyone was looking equally perplexed.

"His weakness." Cass elaborated helpfully. "It's…you. Um…well, Robin, I guess."

"He's got some kind of mental block set up around you." Raven chimed in. "When you appeared he…panicked. Warren, not the demon. The demon seemed irritated, but not frightened or anything. But Warren…something about you being invincible or something and not being fair."

Tim nodded absently. It didn't make sense. Warren had all these incredible powers and he was frightened of...of…Robin? But…an image popped into his mind…the last time he'd encountered Warren…Warren's body lying in pieces on the pavement. Of course, now they knew he hadn't been dead but…

"I defeated him."

"Hm?" The team had been chattering amongst themselves, trying to make sense of this new development as well.

"Before. Before he got power. And after. And…" he frowned. "He'd hired an assassin. She might have told him I was dead…and Ste…Spoiler took over the costume for a while. He thought I was dead but I'm not and even though it was his own power weakening him before he's got it into his head that I am some kind of unbeatable foe." The words just rushed out, almost faster than he thought of them. He glanced at Raven for confirmation of his theory. She nodded.

"That's kind of the impression I got."
"So, what's the deal? He can't fight you, mind more powerful than the body, yadda yadda, so just go get him." Conner leaned back, forgetting he wasn't in a chair and nearly fell off his crate.

"It's not that simple." Tim shook his head. "I mean, yeah, maybe his mental block would have that affect, but maybe he's just running scared. And a cornered animal will fight twice as hard to escape." Conner shrugged.

"If you say so. But he ran…remember that, Tim. He ran from you. He didn't stay and fight."

"But if he did, he has the advantage of power." Cassie pointed out.

"Not to mention the lack of respect for human life." Raven chipped in. "He might not mentally allow himself to fight Robin…but he'll use others against him. Innocent bystanders, you, me." As he did before, Tim thought.

"We're going to have to choose the next battleground. Keep him away from innocents…it's not going to be a simple, straightforward attack this time. It's going to have to be a mind-game."


To be continued…