Here's two in a day because I'm procrastinating for finals.

Chapter Twenty-Three - Bat Blood

Dick blinked as he tried to wake up from this obvious dream he'd been living. It couldn't be real, of course not. He looked exactly like him, but obviously that wasn't true. A monkey and a banana could've told you so.

But it was uncanny.

He couldn't have been older than eleven. He was just a bit taller than Dick's torso. He had short dark black hair along with bright blue eyes that seemed so very dark with that permanent scowl that was plastered on his face. He seemed to be sizing Dick up, looking him up and down. He looked unimpressed with what he saw.

"This is-" Talia didn't get the chance to finish.

"Bruce's son." Dick already knew it, deep down. It was just impossible to believe. Bruce Wayne, the Batman, had a son. Biologically. Wasn't Hell supposed to freeze over right about now?

The boy crossed his arms, looking toward Talia, "Mother who is this creature?"

Dick didn't have the wits about him to be offended, he was still in such shock.

"Damian, this is your brother." she announced, motioning toward Dick.

Damian's nostrils flared in pure disgust as he threw his arms in the air, "You birthed this cretin, Mother?"

Dick's shock wore off and he just crossed his arms, "Now that's poor manors."

Talia glared at her son, "He is not of my blood. He was raised and trained by your father. This is Richard Grayson." she explained.

"Grayson," the way the young boy said his name was full of disdain, "I thought you'd be more impressive."

Dick snorted, "And I'd thought you'd only exist in my worst nightmares," he smirked, "Guess we're both wrong, pip-squeak."

He narrowed his eyes, "Call me that again and you'll lose that tongue."

Talia stepped between them, "Enough!" she demanded, both of them looked to her. Damian huffed and Dick didn't look too phased. She sighed, pinching the bridge between her nose. She looked up to Dick, he could see the desperate look in her eyes, "The assassin - she said you were the new Batman," Talia began nervously, chewing on her bottom lip, "Does that mean... Bruce is-?"

Dick's eyes darkened, "Jason's taken him. Been missing about a month." he explained.

"How do you know he's still alive?"

Dick shook his head in dismissal, "He's the Batman - if there's not a body, he's not dead." he huffed, "I won't give up on him." he stated firmly.

Talia looked back at Damian, who studied the two closely, "I want you to take my son back to Gotham with you." she stated.

Dick rose a brow while Damian absolutely lost it, "You've got to be joking? No. No. Absolutely not, I will go nowhere with Grayson. I refuse to leave you." the boy stood his ground firmly.

Talia gave a weak smile, "Stubborn. Just like his grandfather and father." she reached down and grabbed Dick's hand, "Please, Richard. I want... I need him to have a good life. Away from here."

Dick paused looking at the desperate mother and angry child, "What if Bruce is...?" he didn't bother finishing the sentence. They both know what the end of it was.

Talia's lips thinned into a straight line, "You are his son by everything but blood. He's taught you everything he knows. You are the only other person in this world that I would trust with this."

Dick nodded, "If this is what you want..." he glanced one time back at Damian, still glaring straight through him, "I'll do it."

Talia smiled and kissed Dick on the cheek, "Thank you, Richard." he looked down, "I am forever in your debt." she turned to face Damian who still looked utterly pissed off, "You are to do as he says. Richard is your brother and he will lead you to your father." she explained.

He scoffed, "What about what I want?"

Talia's face softened for a bit, she bent down and kissed him on the forehead, "This is what's best." she muttered. Talia rose to her feet as her face hardened once again, "You will do as he says."

Damian looked down, his hands balled up into tight fists, "Yes mother." he growled out through clenched teeth.

Talia nodded and grabbed a small briefcase which she handed over to Dick, "It has a change of clothes for him as well as all the appropriate papers he'll be needing in Gotham. Be safe." she nodded.

Dick took the case from her and turned to Damian, "C'mon. Let's move." he instructed.

The pair of them left the room. As soon as they were out of earshot of Talia, Damian looked up at Dick and growled, "You'll never be my brother."

Dick looked down at him for a moment then back away, "I know."

Four Days Later

The Titans looked between themselves as they settled around the table. It was the original four of them, they all had hard pressed looks on their faces. They'd decided to do it the way the Justice League had always done it. Founders vote. Minus Robin, they were all of the original team members of the Titans.

Cyborg sat in the center, "We need to make a decision." he huffed out, they'd been going in circles for days. He wiped his his face, the bags under his human eye got heavier by the second, "Let's go over each argument one more time." he sighed, "Who would like to defend him?"

"Me, dude." Beast Boy raised his hand with a toothy smile.

"Who's gonna make an argument to kick Kid Flash out?" Cyborg questioned.

"I will." Raven muttered quietly.

Cyborg nodded, "Alright. Raven will go first." he declared.

Raven looked over at the remaining three Titans, "This team has always been built on trust between the team members." she began, "We could all be competent heroes by ourselves, but we work better as this team. As the Titans. That's why we were selected for the team - not because of our strength or speed, but because we work better together than we do apart."

She paused, thinking for a split moment, "Robin wasn't our leader because he was stronger or faster or smarter," he looked at the only friends she'd had for years, "He was our leader because he could inspire us and teach us how to do more good as the Titans." she gave a small smile to Cyborg, "The same way Victor does now."

Cyborg smiled and nodded at her, then he turned to Beast Boy, giving a curt nod.

Beast Boy began, "Kid Flash is our friend. I know that he was probably working for Batman and all that, but I mean - so was Robin. Rob probably gave updates to Batman whenever he was on the team."

"We all knew that." Raven reasoned, "Kid Flash lied to us."

Beast Boy frowned, "Okay maybe he did, but... but... we shouldn't kick him out. People make mistakes, we all have before and we all probably will again."

"BB, a mistake can be forgiven, but he deliberately did this." Cyborg tried.

Beast Boy's face fell as he sighed, "Look... We wouldn't have beat Bane without Kid Flash's help. I know that much. He's not a bad guy."

Cyborg sighed quietly, "You done?"

Beast Boy nodded quietly as he slunk back in his seat.

Cyborg stood, "Let's vote. Raven?"

"Out."

"Beast Boy?"

"Stays."

"Star?"

"I would like him to stay."

Cyborg sighed, "I vote out..." he shook his head, "It's a tie."

"I don't suppose I get a vote, do I?" None of them needed to turn around to recognize that voice. The same voice that had been leading them for the past three years. The same voice that belonged to their friend. The voice Raven had fallen in love with. They all hesitated to look, but they all did.

Batman stood in the room with the rest of them, his cowl was pulled down. He had a sad smile on his face, "Hi everyone." he gave a short wave.

They said nothing. Raven avoided looking at him, especially into those damn eyes. Why couldn't he have just worn the stupid cowl or mask?

"Rob-" Cyborg began.

"Dick," he quickly corrected.

"Dick," Cyborg said with a hint of venom, "What're you doin' here man?" he asked.

He sighed which turned into a half-chuckle, "Alfred told me what you did for Gotham." he began, "I wanted to thank you."

Cyborg left the table and stood right in front of the Batman. Dick had grown, but Cyborg was still a tad taller. Dick didn't back down. Cyborg glared at him, "We didn't do it for your 'thanks'." he hissed, "We did it because it's the right thing to do. It's what you taught us, remember?"

Dick's eyes flicked over everyone one of them, Raven still refused to look at him, "Yeah... I'm proud of all of you." he took a deep breath and gently exhaled it, "I thought I needed to do this alone. I thought that it would be easier if I did it alone." he shook his head, "That was wrong. I was wrong."

Cyborg looked him up and down, his face softened just a bit but he was still distant, "You expect us to welcome you back with open arms?" he scoffed, "Fuck no."

Dick nodded as he frowned, "I'll do whatever it takes. However long it takes."

"Is that really how you let your subordinates speak to you?" Damian asked from behind Dick. He twisted around to see the boy standing behind him, "And this place is a wreck." he scoffed, "It wreaks in the hallway."

"I told you to wait in the car." Dick growled.

"I didn't want to."

The boy was going to make Dick tear all of his hairs out sooner rather than later. Cyborg rose a brow, "Is that your Robin?"

Dick chuckled, "God no. This is Damian. Batman's son." he explained.

The entirety of the Titans, including Raven, looked up at him in utter shock and disbelief. Beast Boy finally asked the question that everyone had on their mind, "You have a son?"

Damian and Dick both widened their eyes and showed looks of disgust, "Oh, no. I meant Bruce, not me - god no. Does it look like we're related?"

Cyborg looked between the two - black hair, blue eyes, brooding bat. He nodded with a smirk.

Dick chose to ignore and just turned to Damian, "Go wait in the common room." he told the boy, "Don't break anything." Damian just grumbled a few curses underneath his breath as he sulked out of the room. Dick sighed and turned back to Cyborg, "I know it won't be overnight, but... Just give me a chance?"

Cyborg sighed, "Just... Let me think about it. I'll give you an answer tomorrow." he stated flatly, pushing past Dick and walking out the door. Starfire soon followed after their team leader, she didn't look at Dick as she made her leave. Beast Boy was going to do the same but as he was half way out, he dipped quickly back in the room and wrapped his arms around Dick in a tight hug before following after the rest of them.

Then all that was left was the Bird and the Bat. Raven made no move to leave nor even move from her seat. Dick stood where he was as a potent silence hung between the pair. Raven had moved her gaze away from him. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to leave or just say something. Anything.

"I lied, y'know?" he finally spoke. She had to hold herself from breaking completely.

She didn't respond, she didn't know if she could if she even wanted to.

"I always loved you, Pretty Bird." he cooed, all of the lights in the room popped in an explosion but that didn't stop him, "Couldn't sleep because I dreamed about you. Couldn't even close my eyes because there you were." he sighed, "I thought I wasn't too good at being Batman for a while, but..." Raven felt his hand gently touch hers in the darkness, "I realized that I'm not good at much of anything without you at my side."

She was quiet for a long time, "You rehearse that?" she asked quietly.

He chuckled quietly, "I wanted to get it right."

She silently pulled her hand from his, she could feel the despair radiating off of him, "You'll need to give me time." she paused, "A lot has changed."

He was quiet, "I'd wait until the end of time for you, Pretty Bird." the door opened the light was shed on the two of them. She could she the smile on his lips, but she felt his true emotions. He walked out of the room. He paused, sniffed the air.

"Jesus Christ it smells bad in here." he nearly gagged. Raven waited at the door frame as Dick perused the smell - he trailed it all the way down to his old room. He looked back at Raven with a questionable look.

"We haven't been in there." she answered.

Dick opened the door and almost immediately dropped to his knees. His face was broken once more. Raven went to him, but as she got closer she began to recognize the smell. Death.

She looked in to see Bruce Wayne's mangled corpse strewn across Dick's old bed. The bat's blood was spilled across every wall and both ceiling and floor. Her body froze and she felt the footsteps behind her, "That's my father... isn't it?" Damian's voice seemed so much smaller than it had before. He shouldn't see this. No one should see this. Raven pulled the young Wayne into herself, shielding his eyes but burying them into her clothes.

But it was too late. He'd seen everything.