Thank you for reviewing! I really appreciate it!
TO MISS GEEK: Yes, it is leaning towards an Outlaws story. (Thank god my writing isn't too bad that people won't understand what's going on). Though it seemingly is leaning towards being an Outlaws story, new struggles are introduced in this chapter, and it's a little more Titans focused - just a little though hah.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. Teen Titans belong to DC (which totally stands for disappointing comics) and Warner Bros.
Chapter 5: Do you still believe in one another? (Part 1)
"Fan mail time, y'all!"
It was a quiet morning for the Titans, and they were thankful for it. They were thankful nothing too bad had happened while most of them (except the two birds, Robin and Raven, they seemed to always rise with the sun) slept in.
By 'nothing too bad', they meant anything that involved too much chaos. Small robberies could be handled by the police, but if Cinderblock came around while they were asleep? Jump city wouldn't last a minute.
Upon the fan mail written by the citizens of Jump ranging from young kindergarteners to hormonal teenagers to (surprisingly) the elderly thanking them for their 'community service'. But one envelope seemed to stick out from the bunch. Dick Grayson picked up the envelope, and hoped that it wasn't from who he thought it was.
It's fairly safe to say that luck wasn't on his side.
On the envelope was the Gotham post stamp featuring the original Dynamic Duo. He had always been flattered but did they really need to use a photo from the time he still wore the green scaly, and arguably, glowing underpants?
Dick's sudden scowl caught the attention of the shapeshifter. "Hey...Dick? You okay there, bud?"
Dick didn't stir. "Dick?" Garfield tried poking him, but that didn't wake him from his deep thoughts. Garfield then caught the post stamp on the envelope. He let out a quiet 'oh' and retreated to Kori's side.
Dick starred longingly at the envelope, internally conflicted on what to do next. He left Gotham after a fight with Bruce, though it wasn't the reason why he left, but he never apologised to Bruce and had never contacted him. To be perfectly fair, Bruce didn't contact him unless it was anything serious…like what had happened to Jason. They've only seen each other once, and that was at his adoptive brother's funeral.
So why now? After, approximately, 2 years?
He left the common room without a word, and sat down at his desk.
Back at the common room all four Titans looked at where their leader had disappeared to with raised eyebrows and confused faces.
"Uhhhh...did the fans break Robin?" Said Victor, while keeping his robotic eye on the eggs.
"Worse. It was from Gotham." Replied Gar, who for once didn't wolf down - aka. literally changing into a wolf to eat breakfast, can't believe how extra this guy is - his breakfast.
Kori stared at the empty hallway with worry. "This 'Gotham' was where Richard hails from, correct?"
Victor nodded, and passed a plate of bacon to Raven. "Oh yeah, Batman has a new Robin now. Probably wrote to tell him about it." He said, trying to lighten up the mood. Raven finished her plate of food quickly and tidily and rose from the breakfast table. "I'll check on him." With that, she left the common room and headed towards Dick's bedroom.
"Do you think it's anything serious?" Garfield asked. After all, after Jason Todd's death, the young superhero community had increased concentration, trained harder than before. Death hit too close to home.
"I hope not." replied Victor, "Dick can't take another heartbreak. Not after last time."
Kori didn't know Jason Todd personally, but she had known of him from Dick's stories about where Robin had originated from. She knew that Jason Todd made Batman smile from time to time, and made Dick's life more complicated, but in a good way. They were brothers, and though they fought almost all the time, they still had their sweet moments. She wished she had known him though, he seemed to be a fun person to be around.
Dear Richard,
I hope this letter finds you well, it has been a while, hasn't it? I see you on the news every few months, and I'm proud of what you have established in Jump City. Alfred says that you've grown skinnier, and worries over your diet. He also says that you shouldn't live off pizza, though I'm not sure how he knows that specifically, I hope you are living a healthy and happy lifestyle in Jump.
I understand why you decided to leave, and I congratulate you for finding yourself new friends and family, and effectively establishing a team to keep Jump City out of reach from those who desire to cause harm to it.
Anyway, for the past two years I have reflected upon my actions and have come to realisation that I should have written to you, or contacted you earlier. I know you are capable of taking care of yourself, but sometimes I worry for you (especially that time you worked for Slade, and I had to find out through the media). Just know that if you have any problems, you can always contact me for advice. You may not be my 'sidekick' anymore, but you are still my son, and Alfred's grandson.
Speaking of family, I trust that you have been notified that a new member had joined our family. I made a mistake last time by refusing to contact you, and that has lead me onto a dark path, so to made amends, I hope you can return to Gotham for a short period of time to meet your newest family member. He looks up to you and Jason, it would be his honour to meet his predecessor in person.
I understand that you are busy, and have started a life at Jump, however, I do not wish to shut you out. You made your choice and left the nest, but please remember that you are always welcome to return.
Regards,
Bruce Wayne
"So…you're going back to Gotham?"
"I'm going to meet up with Wally and Roy first." said the first boy wonder, already packing his bag, "I be gone for a week at least, two weeks at most."
"And you're leaving…now?" The empath placed the letter back on her friend's table, eyeing the suitcases, slightly worried about his hasty decision.
"Tomorrow."
Raven let out a sigh of relief. His brain is still functioning, good.
"Rae, you know I can feel you judging, right?" said Dick with a smug look plastered on his face. Raven simply rolled her eyes and walked out the room, but not before reminding him to explain everything to his teammates.
Garfield realised that Dick wasn't the only one acting all weird. In fact, Vic had been acting weird the whole week, but he couldn't put his finger on what. At first, he thought the tower had run out of meat, or just any sort of food. He was proven wrong by Raven who opened all the cupboards at once to show him that 'it's still not time for grocery shopping, BB'. He then thought that maybe the Titans hadn't paid their electrical bill and the government was slowly taking away their power, which meant that Vic couldn't be 100% charged. He was also wrong about that. He had to deal with a frustrated Dick Grayson for his false assumptions.
It was not until Victor called him to his room that afternoon.
"What's up, Cy?" said Garfield, trying really hard not to let his eyes wander around Vic's room.
"If you think I haven't noticed you glancing at me weirdly then proceeding to tear the tower apart, then you're an idiot." said the older teen with a serious expression. Garfield didn't dare lift his head to meet his best friend's eyes. He had no reason to doubt him for anything, but in his defence, Vic was acting weird as hell.
"Look, I know you mean well, which is why I'm going to tell you whats up." with those words, Garfield's ears perked up, there was even this slight glow in his eyes. Victor sighed, "All right, but you promise you won't run your mouth to the rest of the team?"
Beast Boy nodded too hard, too quickly, which lead him to see stars around Cyborg's robotic eye.
"A week or so ago I received this encrypted message, so I decrypted it without breaking a sweat thinking that it was just someone messing around. But then I realised that the only people, or person for that matter, who would know how to encrypt something like that would be the Justice League, or you know…Batman. I read the message, and I think the Justice League is inviting me to join them."
Garfield blinked. "I'm sorry, you lost me at 'Batman'"
"They want me in the League."
Garfield blinked again. Vic swore he could hear crickets chirping due to the lack of response from his friend (but then again, it could just be Beast Boy making those sound effects)
Approximately a minute later, Garfield screeched at the top of his voice.
"WHAT? AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO TELL US?"
"BB! QUIET DOWN." Victor gritted through his teeth.
"THIS IS BIG NEWS"
"HUSH!" He tried to put his hand over Gar's mouth, but the boy squirmed too much.
"WHY?" Garfield asked, this time, more quietly.
"Because I tried to track whether the rest of you got the message as well, but none of you did. Not even Robin!" Vic pulled up his attempted tracking of more encrypted messages.
"Well, the dude did ask for some alone time from the Big B." replied Garfield casually. Victor raised his human eyebrow, "You know. Batman. The Big B. The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusa-"
"All right, that's enough aliases."
"What if it's a prank?"
"It's too high tech to be a prank."
"What if it was an elaborate one?" said the younger Titan, while nudging his friend.
"Garfield, it's not a prank. The League is waiting for my reply. They haven't given me a time limit, but I assume they want a response as fast as possible." sighed the older teen.
"So…what are you gonna choose?" asked Garfield, voice cracking just a little. Not enough for Vic to notice though.
There was a silence, followed by a quiet "I'm not sure yet."
Dick was on his phone, going through his camera roll before being flicked on the forehead. "I got here as fast as I can, dickhead." A smirking Roy Harper with a baseball cap and sunglasses stood before the Boy Wonder "Bumblebee wasn't too fond of me leaving on such short notice, and taking her transportation."
"Always a pleasure seeing you, Harper."
"So, where's the speedster?" asked Roy. Right on cue, a flash of red and yellow rushed past them, making both heroes lose their balance for a bit, before the empty space beside them was filled by a certain green eyed teen.
"So, what's the emergency? We finally starting a boy band with Aqualad?" Wally West teased as he leaned onto Roy for support. "Dudes, seriously. I didn't run from Steel, then back to Central, stay for two weeks, and then to Jump for you two to stare back at me blankly."
"Let's get a place to eat first," suggested Dick, "bet you're starving, KF."
"Babe, you know me so well."
Dick rolled his eyes and pushed Wally off balance as Roy snickered, "You're, Boy Blunder. You're the adopted billionaire here."
During their search for a place to eat, they let go of their worries and became normal teenagers for once. It had been a long time since the trio hung out with such carefree attitudes. After finding the right restaurant and watching Wally devour everything in sight, they began the serious talks.
"I'm going after Ollie. Then to all the gangs his damned company sold my stuff to, and Dick, don't even try to tell me that you'll handle it. This is my responsibility, and my stuff. I'll take care of it."
"He's got a point, Dick." said Wally, "it's kinda like a personal thing."
"Roy," Dick started, "there has to be an easier way though-"
"My decision is final. Don't cover my ass for me, I know what I'm getting into, dickie-bird." this earned a sigh from said bird.
"Plus, Aqualad, though I think he wants to go by Tempest now, anyway, he's gonna back me up if I need help."
"Aquadude? Wow, I'm generally shocked by that. Thought he was the Dad Friend™" said the speedster, shoving 5 fries in his mouth, "what about Bumblebee? What does she think?"
"I think she'll understand. Hopefully she won't take my head off" laughed the archer.
"Yeah, but going alone? I can accompany you to Starling City if you want." said Dick, still mulling multiple options over in his head.
"I'm gonna be fine, Dick. I'm older than you, anyway."
"Not mentally though" said the bat-kid smugly.
"You suck, Dick."
"Need a lift to Star City, Roy?" offered Wally with his face stuffed.
"On your back? Thanks but no thanks, Kid."
"You know we're the same age right, Harper?"
"Swallow before you talk, West."
Dick sighed, "why do I hang out with you guys." He then proceeded to thunk his head onto the table.
"Grayson, your hair gel is crap, by the way."
"Shut up, Roy."
For the remainder of the afternoon, Dick told his best friends about Batman requesting him to return to Gotham. The two redheads shared the same look of a raised eyebrow and a shrug.
"I'm not too surprised, I mean, Barry can barely live without bothering me, I don't see why Bruce is any different."
"Yeah, but he's Bruce. He's the Batman, who works alone and lurks in the shadows and shit like that"
"You right. But despite everything, he's still kinda your dad, Dick. He probably misses you too much. It's been like two years, bro." Wally put his arm around Dick, as an attempt to comfort his friend. "You are going back right?"
Dick nodded, "If I don't there's a 99% chance Alfred will drag my ass back to Gotham anyway, so I'm leaving tomorrow."
"Have you mailed back to Bats yet?" asked Roy.
"Don't think I'll need to." said the acrobat, Bruce did mention that Dick could return anytime he wanted to. "Plus, we're always too lazy to buy that post stamps or envelopes and stuff."
The three called it a day and retreated to the Titans Tower. Roy and Wally had decided to stay for the night. Dick had also asked Wally for a favour - to work with the Titans West while he was gone. The Flash had been fine with that, so Wally stayed and did his friend a favour. Roy said that he might have a lead on who the hell is selling his RoyBots in Jump, and requested Raven to help him when needed.
After the group of friends had dinner, Starfire had to patrol the city. Everyone bid each other goodnight as the alien princess headed out.