Project Pr never knew kindness, compassion, or love. All he knew was the color white, and pain. The terrible, excruciating pain that defined every moment of his existence. Hours and days bled into months and years; each additional experiment becoming indistinguishable from the last. He didn't how long he'd been trapped- how long he had spent stuck in this cycle of pain and torture. Wasn't even sure if there had been anywhere other than here; if the memories he thought he had were even real or not.

They had a telepath, he knew. Every time Pr could almost feel his lost memories, almost remember who he had been, they would rip them away again. Steal his memories and leave him with nothing but echoes and whispers of what he may have once been.

Or rather, almost nothing. There was one memory he grasped onto like a lifeline. Pr knew it could very well mean life or death, keeping this memory. And it comforted him, reminded him that there was something other than the pain and experiments.

Reminded him that there was still good in the world.

Flashback

"Boys, dinner!" The voice of Mary Grayson called, echoing loudly in the small train car. Two black mops of hair popped out from behind the door, smiling widely as they raced to a small table set for four. A large man followed behind the boys, towering over them easily with a height clearly exceeding six feet. He smiled as he walked over to the woman.

"Hello, my Darling Dove. Sorry we're late, Danny and Dick were begging me for just five more minutes on the trapeze- and who am I to refuse such an adorable request?" He laughed. The two boys nodded along with their father, their black hair flying as they did so. They were identical, right down to their height and build. So of course, they were twins.

"Once a Grayson, always a Grayson." The woman, Mary said. She smiled and ruffled the boy's black hair, which was very different from her own brownish blonde. They certainly had their father's hair, that much was obvious.

"Mom, stop!" the boys said in unison, swatting at her hands. She just smiled fondly as she went over to the stove, fixing them all a plate of pasta as her husband stowed away haphazardly removed shoes.

"Măști sau nu, suntem o familie. Să nu uiți niciodată că păsările mele mici." (Masks or no, we are family. Never forget that my little birds.) The boys smiled at their mother, pausing to speak as they were handed their plates.

"Niciodată, mamă." (Never, Mom.) And so little family dug in, the scene fading to black.

End Flashback

Pr did not know what his connection to these people could possibly be, nor why the memory was so important. But he did know that if he let go of it, he would die. He would fall somewhere so dark neither the light of the sun nor the moon would reach him.

The moon…the moon! Right, he knew about something concerning the moon as well. One day, after one particularly hard experiment, Pr found a pin safely stowed away in a hidden pocket of his boot. He didn't know how it got there or where it came from, but he didn't particularly care either. All he knew was that it gave him hope of once again seeing the stars that littered the night sky; that was enough for him.

The pin was a simple crescent moon, adorned in a gleaming silver paint that reflected on the white of the walls around him. Despite it's simplicity, it felt like so much more than some meaningless belonging. It made him feel things outside of the everyday melancholy and despair.

Made him feel like maybe… just maybe, there was somewhere he belonged outside these walls; somewhere with a family who loved and missed him. Somewhere he could call home.

Project Pr jumped as the doors to his cell hissed open, agents dressed in stark white suits rushing forward to secure his arms before he could get a chance to struggle away. Another agent- a man who called himself Agent Delta, walked into the room. Unlike the other agents, he was dressed in a sleek black suit that stood out prominently against the dull white walls of the cell. Delta grinned down at Pr, folding his hands neatly behind his back as his eyes took on a sinister glint.

"Hello, Project Pr. Ready for your next experiment?"

Pr shook his head wildly back and forth, sobbing hysterically as he blabbered in Romanian. "Nu! Te rog, nu mai mult! Să ne ajute cineva! Te rog ajută-mă! vă rog! Ajutor!" (No! Please, no more! Somebody help! Please, HELP ME! Please! HELP!)

The agent in black marched forwards, backhanding Pr across the face as he sneered. Pr's head was snapped to the side, blood trickling slowly down his face as his cries quieted. Agent Delta sneered in disgust, wiping the blood from his hand on a nearby agent.

"Take him away."

So Pr was dragged down the hallway, his screams resuming as he begged for someone- anyone, to help him. The agents dragging him gave no notice to the cries aside from making sure his dampening collar was still functional. They dragged him into another white room, this one featuring a sleek metal table with glowing green manacles attached. The agents dragged him over to the table, securing his arms in straps that even the man of steel would have trouble breaking.

A scientist walked over with a scalpel held leisurely in one hand, sneering down at his experiment in disgust, indifferent towards his struggles and sobbing. "Don't worry this will not hurt...much." Without further warning the scientist plunged the scalpel into Pr's chest, his screams and pleas growing greater in decibel as the scientist dragged the scalpel down barely healed marks from the previous experiment.

The agents in the room began murmuring nervously as the sounds only grew, the room almost seeming to vibrate as the volume kept increasing. The scientist kept working until rubble began falling from the ceiling, forcing the occupants of the room to seek shelter. Panicked calls stuttered through the radios, and the collar around Pr's neck crackled to life as it began shocking him, only increasing the screams further.

Suddenly, he wasn't the only one screaming.

The souls of the dead began screaming along with him, bursting from his mouth in green waves as the building continued to crumble around him. The collar blinked and sparked before finally giving out, Pr instinctively phasing through his restraints as it did so.

Distantly, he could hear Delta and the scientist screaming at the guards to not let it escape. Screaming at them to open fire and get him back dead or alive. But Pr was already gone, flying through the night. Floating numbly along on his back, the stars twinkled back at him almost as if in greeting. Pr sighed, laughing weakly as tears trickled down his face. Free… he was free! He was really free…

He never noticed as he regained tangibility, the numbness entrenched in his being masking the tell-tale tingling.

Pr floated backward, slamming his head on the back wall of an old phone booth; pooling limply at the bottom as the door closed behind him. Black danced at the edges of his vision as pain clouded his head, the rings of his transformation passing over his body as his consciousness began to fade.

Just before the tantalizing darkness could consume him, Pr thought he vaguely heard a robotic voice as sounds of GIW pursuit arose in the distance…

"Robin, B-06, Recognized."

Two hours before, at mount justice

"WALLY GET THE FUCK BACK HERE YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING SPEEDSTER!" Robin's voice resonated throughout Mount Justice, murderous intent clear in every word as he raced through the halls in search of said speedster. When an altercation such as this normally occurred, Robin waited for the perfect moment before enacting a revenge plan so devious it would make even the Joker think twice. This time, however? Wally had gone way too far- and Robin was so. Not. Whelmed.

Robin wiped at his face underneath the sunglasses, brushing aside stray tears as he ran. He was determined to avoid the rest of his team witnessing his momentary lapse in control. That would be so not asterous- but he couldn't help it. Wally had taken the one thing he protected at all costs; even the cost of his life if it really came down to it.

Wally had stolen his sun pin- an object he cherished with every once of his being. It radiated a constant warmth, the saturated golden hue sparkling in even the slightest light. That pin was the last thing he had left of his brother after his disappearance 5 years ago; he'd be damned if he allowed that to be ripped away because of a stupid annoyance like Wally.

Flashback

Two brothers, both indistinguishable from one another, ran through a lavish green yard. Every few steps were punctuated by a flip or twist of some kind; both boys laughing until tears of mirth poured down their faces and their chests began to ache.

Falling forwards into a roll, they flopped onto their backs beside each other; looking towards the stars and panting as their laughter subsided. Falling into a comfortable silence, they stayed like that for a good while.

The silence was eventually broken as Danny turned to his twin with a questioning frown. "Dickie, do you think Mami and Tati would be happy that we're heroes?"

Dick just smiled softly towards the night sky, folding his hands comfortably under his head as he responded. "Mami and Tati would be happy as long were happy. Măști sau nu măști, remember?"

Danny sighed forlornly as he blinked up at the sky, willingly away the mounting tears. "Yeah, I remember. Once a Grayson always a Grayson, after all." He suddenly let out a sob, looking back up to the clouds. "I miss them so much, Rob."

Dick smiled, letting a few tears fall. "I know, Raven. But we have to be strong, all right? We need to be strong, Mom and Dad would have wanted us to be. And don't forget, we will always have something to remember them bye." He pulled out a small golden pin shaped like the sun.

Danny smiled, also pulling out a pin. It was a small crescent moon and shined silver instead of gold. "I know. But I still miss them." Dick just smiled, sitting up to hug his brother. So they sat like that for a while, just smiling.

"Dick, Danny, come in now! Time to eat before patrol!" Bruce called from the doorway. They both hurriedly wiped the tears from their faces, getting up to race each other to the door.

As Dick gained ground and grew more confident in his lead, he turned back to tease his brother. "Haha! Come on, catch up slowpoke!" Only Danny wasn't racing along behind him anymore.

"Danny? Where are you? Come on this isn't funny!" Dick called out, coming to a hesitant stop; expecting his brother to re-appear in a mad dash for the door. But Danny didn't re-appear at all, and Dick was greeted with only more silence. Panic clouded his mind, Dick resuming his running at a more frantic pace towards the door. "BRUCE!" He screamed, stumbling through the halls as he kept praying for this all to be some kind of prank. Danny would pop out and laugh at him with a 'got-ya!' any second now, right? But Danny never did show up, and Dick never heard from him again since. And with that, the memory faded to black.

End Flashback

Robin wiped more tears from his face as he ran into the kitchen, hoping the faint wetness would go unnoticed by those occupying the room. "Have guys seen Wally?" He asked, crossing his arms in an attempt at maintaining his collected front. Considering the telepathic martian in the room, he really should have known better.

"Robin? Are you alright?" Said M'gann, her face filling with worry as she slowly began approaching him. "You do not seem yourself." Great, now all the others had started to realize something was up. He had to play this off- let his anger out a bit, maybe they wouldn't realize he'd been crying.

"I will be fine as soon as I find Wally and kick his ass!" He said, grinding his teeth together as he clenched his fists. Already Conner was looking away as he lost interest, Aqualad doing much the same as he realized it was just another quarrel. Though M'gann was still looking on in worry and Artemis just looked straight suspicious at this point, they hadn't noticed he was crying- and Robin would take that as a win any day.

Then Wally chose just that moment to speed into the room, immediately announcing the fact Robin had just almost successfully covered up. "Oh hey man, were you crying? That's just way too hilarious!" Speak of the devil and he shall appear, right?

Robin whipped around, shoving his finger in Wally's face. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't beat your ass to a bloody pulp." He hissed, causing the speedster to flinch as he reeled back in shock.

"Geez, dude," Wally Grumbled, digging through his pockets. "Chill out, it's just a stupid pin." He pulled the pin out, tossing it to Robin as he did so. But before he could grab it, Artemis snaked out her hand as she snatched the pin mid-air. She turned the pin over, inspecting it as she ignored the murderous intent and irritation rolling off of Robin in waves.

"Wally's right dude, it's just some stupid little pin. What's so important about it?" She said accusingly, holding up the pin for Robin to see. He tried to grab it, only for her to pull it up out of his reach at the last second.

"No no no, you're going to tell us what this thing is and how it could possibly manage to get the amazing boy wonder so worked up. Then you can have it back." She taunted, placing her hand on her hip with a cocky smile. "So tell us, boy blunder. What's so important about this pin?"

At this point, Robin's vision bled red, officially done with his possession being withheld from him. He lunged at Artemis, catching her momentarily off-guard as she tried to reel back from the threat. She wasn't expecting the cool, collected one of the team to suddenly lose it over some dumb little pin. The rest of the team rushed forwards to intercept before the fight could get further out of hand, failing to notice the pin drop from Artemis's hand as she was tackled to the ground by a very pissed-off bird.

Snap

Everyone froze, icy dread flooding their veins as they all turned hesitant heads toward the noise. Robin froze as well, halting his attack in favor of staring at Super Boy in abstract horror. Haltingly, Super Boy raised his right boot from where it rested on the ground, small metal slivers falling in its wake.

It was broken.

B̶̙̫̯̫͕̚͠͝R̴͖̖͚̣͊̄͌͐͜o̸̹͉̯͎͖͌́̏̓k̷̜̘̣̪̥̘͍̪͗͛́̅́̅E̷̢͔̯̱̝̙̰͛̎̏̎̐n̵̜̂̔͛?̷̹̅́̋́́̕

Robin let go of Artemis in favor of walking slowly towards the pin. The others backed away without a word, repelled by the terrifying aurora he seemed to be almost physically projecting. Kneeling by the pin, Robin scooped the scattered pieces tenderly between his palms. It was shattered. His last connection to his twin brother, and it was shattered.

S̵̛̹͘h̵̭̞̘̾̃ä̵̪̙̕ť̷̨͇͎̋͒ţ̵̒̒e̴̦͠r̷̞̅e̶̱͆͂d̴̖̳͈̉̾͝?

He let out a sob, holding the broken pieces close to his chest as he shook. The rest of the team just stood around him, gaping silently. Never, had Robin ever cried with them around. They'd been almost sure he wasn't even physically capable of doing so! But here he was, crying over a pin of all things.

Robin couldn't bring himself to care about the gathered audience, feeling almost numb as he cried. If the pin was gone, he might as well have lost his brother all over again. And it was all his fault…

No… no, that wasn't right, was it? It wasn't his fault. It was h̴͇͈͇͇͌̾̕̕ͅé̴̥̠̦̌r̶̨̹̪̤͎̳̟̰̫̅̀̋͒̕͠͝͝͝ fault! It was all because of Ä̴̙r̷̺̉ṱ̵͝ė̷̦m̶̹͝ḯ̴̖s̴̙͊- he'd been so close to Wally just handing over the pin. Now because of her interference, he had lost a piece of himself all over again. For the first time since his brother's disappearance, Robin felt something within himself trying to surface- bubbling up as the world bled red. This time though? He didn't even try to stop it.

Vaguely, Robin felt the white rings form around his waist, his teammates letting out startled gasps as they began yelling frantically over the comms for Batman. But Robin just didn't care anymore. He needed to avenge his brother- get back at her for taking away that last precious piece of Danny he had cherished for a̵̻̥̻̾l̶̯͙̽̄͗l̶̢͇͆ ̵͓̳̙̽t̶̤͇̕h̸͕̃o̶͔̿ṣ̶̡̊͑̕e̵̼̗̘͛ ̴͈̾y̷̘̘̓̀e̶̞̽͝a̷͓̎͒͘ṛ̷̪̥̾̍̕s̸̛͔̦͎̎̀.

D̷̙̚ạ̵͘ǹ̶̖ṇ̴͑y̷̺͋ ̶̲̿Ẅ̴̳́ö̸̻́ų̷̚ḻ̷́d̶͆͜n̸̙̔'̴͙͝t̵̹̔ ̵̯͝w̶̺͛a̶͕͛ǹ̶͕t̵̛̜ ̸͚́ỷ̸̧o̷̖̓ų̴̈́ ̸̣̀t̸͉͋õ̷̪ ̸͚̈́d̴̡̒o̸̞͋ ̴̱̊t̴͇̽ḩ̷͝ị̸͊s̷̟͛-̶̘̚ ̵̹̅Ş̵̎T̸̰͘O̶̤̔P̶͙̋.̶̫͛? ̷͍́T̸̮̍H̵̙̑Ē̵̝Y̵̹͋ ̴̙̒D̴̫͊Ì̵͓D̵̟͂Ṉ̴̑T̵̲͒ ̴̡͐K̵̖͠N̶͙͠Ỏ̶̰Ẁ̵̰ ̵̖̂Ȉ̵̢T̸̠̏ ̸̋͜W̶̭͊A̸̗̋S̵͎̃ ̴͇̈́A̸̙͋Ṇ̴̛ ̶̾͜A̴̤̓C̸̭̈C̶̩͘I̷͓͂D̵͍̀Ë̵̘N̷̤̎T̷͉͐ ̴͕͋S̵̝̍H̵̨͘Ẽ̶ͅ'̶̗͐S̴̤͛ ̴̏͜Ỹ̶̜O̴̞͑Û̵̜R̴̡̊ ̷̰̂F̷͉̽r̸̰̚I̶̗̅É̵̼N̵̤͐d̸̤̃?

No…Not a friend. Not anymore.

Robin allowed the transformation to wash over him; leaving an entirely new costume and appearance in its wake. He now wore an all-black jumper with white combat boots, white gloves, and a small black utility belt around his waist. A black cloak with a hood also formed around his shoulders, hiding his face from sight as it fell into place. But from under it, you could just barely make out the shockingly white hair, brighter than snow itself.

Robin snapped his now toxic green neon eyes open, tenderly setting the broken pieces down as slowly he turned to face Artemis. "W̶̝̭̅̉́h̸̬͚͆̚͘ͅa̸͔̽́͆t̶̖͊̌ͅ ̵̨̗̈́̎d̶̡̞̟̍͛̆í̵̼̱̘d̵̳̈́ ̸͙̙̲͛̅y̷̡̽͊o̵͕̥͋u̸̹̦̿͗ ̵̨̅̽d̸̛̪͑o̴̫͌?̵̣͇͖͑̔!̶̻̻͂̐?̷̣̓!̸̟́́̎" He hissed, stalking towards her. "Ce-ai făcut?!" He screamed, reverting to his first language.

Nobody stepped forwards to help her, too shocked by the sudden transformation and overbearing aurora that suddenly blanketed the room. "I-I- I didn't… I don't-..." Artemis stuttered, putting her hands up in defense as she tripped backward, falling to the ground abruptly. This response only made Robin angrier, pulling his fist back as it charged with green energy. Artemis and the rest of the team could only stare, shocked into inaction.

Right before Robin let the fist fly, intent on killing rather than injuring Artemis, a Batarang lodged itself in the floor next to his feet.

"Robin, stop." Commanded Batman, dropping from the rafters in front of his prodigy. Robin just growled and stalked towards his mentor as he began to float; to the team's continued shock.

"How dare you defend her! Do you see what she did- that's ALL WE HAD LEFT OF HIM! How could you stand by and do NOTHING?!" He hissed, glaring down at his father figure. Batman just continued to stare back calmly in return.

"But is it really worth killing one of your best friends?" At this Robin stopped, his eyes widening slightly as he seemed to consider this. But his eyes fell on the pin again, and his face almost immediately hardened.

"Ÿ̴̢̼̭͍́͋̋̀̋̅̓͐̄͂ȩ̴̧̗͙̟͕̳̟̻̳̟̤̮̠̘̐̎̏̇ś̸̡̞͖̲̱̯͎͓̋̐̓̌́̐̂̔̅̕̕͠." He hissed, clenching his fists as they glowed green. Batman sighed as he looked up at his son. Reaching up slowly, he carefully pulled Robin into a hug. Robin stilled at this, eyes widening as his body began to shake.

"I'm sorry. You know Raven wouldn't want you to do this. And I can't let you." Robin's eyes widened and he tried to move back, but it was too late. Batman hit the back of his neck, rendering him unconscious and also making him revert to his original form as the rings once again passed over his body. Batman lifted Robin up in his arms and turned to the team- giving them all his best bat-glare. He almost smiled when they flinched.

"What did you all do to get him so angry with you?" He demanded, having not quite understood what had transpired through Robin's hissed speech and anger. The team's eyes fell to the broken pin, not saying a word as they all shifted guiltily. In the end, no words were required at all. Batman's eyes widened as he spotted the pin, hardly daring to breathe. Placing Robin gently on the ground, he knelt to pick up the shattered moon pin. His eyes watered, and a lone tear managed to break through his expertly crafted facade of the 'emotionless scary bat.'

The team was shocked. Batman, of all people, was showing emotion. Whatever that pin had been, it must have been something really serious if batman was allowing himself to cry. What had they done?

Batman stood, taking a slow deep breath as he pocketed the pieces of the pin. "All of you had better start praying to whatever deity it is you believe in that I can manage to piece this back together. If not, I don't think me nor my protege will be returning to Mount Justice or the league at any point in the foreseeable future. And you will have lost a good friend over some dumb, childish antics." With that, Batman picked up Robin and turned to walk towards the infirmary.

He didn't get far before the voice of the zeta tube stopped him dead in his tracks, a cold dread filling his chest as he fought to maintain his calm composure.

Robin, B-06, Recognized.