Slade

It had been nearly two weeks since Deathstroke had attacked Robin. As much as Batman wanted to keep it a secret – Batman did love his secrets – Robin won the argument about telling Young Justice about the attack. While Batman continued to blame himself, believing that he should have somehow known that Deathstroke would attack Robin, Robin knew that no one could have expected it. And if he could attack one Justice League sidekick, than he could attack the others. Once Robin had presented this idea, in front of the other League members, Batman had relented.

But Dick wasn't worried about being attacked by Deathstroke. Instead of capes and masks filling his thoughts, Dick was worried about how Wally was going to pay for all the food he had just ordered.

"Planning to feed a small army?" teased the dark haired teenager.

"Dude! That's just a snack," replied the fastest teen alive.

Laughing, Dick just looked at his best friend, Wally West, who was also know as Kid Flash. They had decided to get away from Mount Justice. Since Bruce was being a little more protective than normal, the get together had to take place in Gotham, which was fine with Wally and Dick. And since the red head was almost always hungry, Dick and Wally decided to meet at a restaurant.

The waitress had just walked away with their order. Dick had ordered himself french fries and a soda, while Wally had ordered french fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and two milkshakes, one chocolate and one vanilla. Being a speedster had some benefits, but, depending on who you ask (and who had to pay for it) needing lots of food wasn't one of them.

"I should probably confess something," said Wally, as he ran a hand through his red hair.

"Do I look like a priest?" asked the younger boy, as he raised an eyebrow.

The teens were dressed in civilian clothes, since they weren't together for Team business. Both wore jeans and sneakers, but whereas Wally wore a white t-shirt, Dick wore a red one. Dick had a black baseball cap sitting on the bench next to him.

"Ummm, no," replied the red head. "But, I wanted you to know I spoke with Roy."

"How is he doing?" asked Dick. Ever since the older teen found out he was clone, Dick rarely saw him.

"Busy with trying to find 'the real Roy Harper'," replied Wally. "So, I told him...I mean, I maybe, might have mentioned Deathstroke." The red head whispered the last word as he leaned toward his friend. "And the attack."

"Did he say anything?" asked the dark haired teen.

"Just that if you need anything, to let him know," said Wally.

With a nod of his head, he glanced toward the side hallway where the bathrooms were located. "I'll be back," said Dick.

"Kay," replied the redhead. "I'll stay here and wait for the food."

With a laugh, Dick slipped out of the booth and headed toward the bathroom. As he walked by the women's room, Dick had to shake his head. He never understood gender assigned single occupancy bathrooms. Pushing open the door to the men's room, Dick stepped inside. As he waited for the door to shut, so he could lock it, he noticed that the room was fairly large, for a bathroom.

When the door was almost closed, it opened again. Standing in the door frame was an older man. His white hair was pulled back into a small ponytail and his white beard was neatly trimmed. The man was wearing a dark gray suit jacket, unbuttoned, over a pair of black pants and a black shirt. But the most unusual thing about the guy was a black eye patch, which was covering his right eye.

"Room in use," said the teenager, before it could get awkward.

But instead of leaving the room, the older man stepped into the room, pushed the door shut, and locked it. Dick blinked his eyes and wondered what to do. If he were Robin, he could handle the situation. While the guy seemed too well dressed to be the type to mug a teenager in the bathroom, this was Gotham. Nothing would surprise the teenager. But he was Dick Grayson, adopted son of Bruce Wayne. Dick Grayson didn't know how to kick butt and take names later.

"Hello, Robin."

The teenager knew he was in trouble. This wasn't going to be a mugging, but, more likely, much worse. While Dick didn't recognize the man out of his costume, the teenager had no problem recognizing the voice and the words. The same words that were spoken to him nearly two weeks ago by...

"Deathstroke!"

Smiling, Slade stared at the boy before him. One blue eye staring into two startled blue eyes. "I'm pleased that you aren't denying it."

"Would it have done any good?" demanded the boy, as he backed up against the wall of the bathroom. While the bathroom had seemed large when he first entered, Dick knew there was no where near enough room for a fight.

"No," replied the killer, aware of the teenager backing up. The killer was amused by the boy's actions. As if a few extra feet would help the the boy, if Slade decided to attack.

"How?" questioned the teen hero, wondering how the killer knew who he was.

"You remember, after our battle, you fell unconscious.." said Slade. For a moment, it looks like Dick would respond, but clenching his fist, the boy said nothing. "I removed your mask. Of course, I had it back in place before I left you on the rooftop to contact the Justice League."

"Why did you remove my mask?" demanded Dick. If I get out of here, I have to tell Bruce. He needs to know!

"There are so many reasons why," replied the killer, as he leaned against the locked door. Since the door was the only way in to or out of the bathroom, both hero and killer knew that the boy was trapped. "I told Batman I would make it personal. He knew my identity and now I know yours. But more importantly, Richard...you impressed me."

It wasn't often that the Boy Wonder found himself in a situation where he didn't have any idea of what to do. A killer knew Robin's real name. A killer with a vendetta against Batman. "What are you going to do now?"

"That I haven't decided," replied Slade, as he examined the boy.

Without another word, the killer straightened and unlocked the door. With a nod of his head, Slade left the bathroom. No longer having the urge to use the bathroom, Dick quickly left and found Wally, still in the booth where he had left him. The food had arrived while Dick had been gone. As Dick moved toward the table, he glanced around the restaurant, but Deathstroke was gone.

"Wally, get it to go," said the dark haired teen, as stopped at the table and grabbed his cap from the booth.

"But..." says Wally, before he looked up and saw Dick's face. "What happened?"

"I need to see Bruce now," was all the answer Dick would give.

Waving the waitress down, Wally quickly got the food boxed and bagged. Stepping out of the restaurant, Wally turned to his best friend. "How quickly is 'now'?"

"I'll hold the food if you'll run," replied the other teen.

Realizing something serious must have happened, Wally and Dick walked away from the building and down the alley between the restaurant and the store next to it. Checking for witnesses and finding it clear, Dick took the food, while Wally wrapped an arm around the younger boy's waist and ran for Wayne Manor.

…...

A few minutes later, the two boys arrived at the front door. Not waiting for Alfred to open the door, Dick threw open the door.

"My word," said the older butler. "Master Richard, where are your manners?"

"No time, Alfred," said Dick, the moment too serious to use the nickname he had for the older man. "Where's Bruce?"

"In the study," replied Alfred, noting that his young master seemed upset.

Quickly, the two boys moved down the hall and into Bruce's study. The Dark Knight himself, unmasked and sitting behind the same desk his father had sat at, put down the papers he was looking at. Wally wasn't used to seeing Batman outside of his suit. Yes, the man's son was his best friend, but the Dark Knight still intimidated the red head. Especially when he glared, like he was doing now.

"Dick. Wallace."

"Bruce..." said Dick, only to be interrupted by the older man.

"I am disappointed," replied Bruce, as his voice deepened into the voice of Batman. "In fact, I am more than disappointed. And I will inform your uncle, Wallace. To use your power in civilians clothes! What were you thinking!?"

"Bruce! He knows who I am!" interrupted his adopted son.

"Who knows?" asked the older man, finally taking note of Dick's large eyes and heavy breathing. Something is wrong, thought Bruce.

"Deathstroke," replied Dick.

"What happened?" demanded Bruce.

Quickly, Dick told Bruce what had just happened, from going into the bathroom to Deathstoke entering the room and locking them inside together. As the story continued, Dick paced the floor, though he would stop and face Bruce occasionally. The dark haired teenager was so focused on telling Bruce what had happened, that it almost appeared that Dick had forgotten his best friend was in the room also.

Wally watched Dick and listened to the story. But, inside, Wally was freaking out. Shit! Deathstroke could have killed Dick and I didn't even know he was there. Dick needed me and where was I? Stuffing food in my face!

When Dick finished telling Bruce, the boy stopped and took a deep breath. It was almost that, now that the teenager had told his mentor what had happened, he could calm down. Reaching up with his right hand, and feeling a pull in his shoulder from the still healing wound that Deathstroke had inflicted, Dick rubbed at his hair before dropping his hand to his side.

"What do I do, Bruce?" whispered the boy, fear in his voice.

"We'll take measures to keep you safe," replied Bruce, who had already gotten up from his chair. Wally realized that, while Dick had told his story, Bruce had slowly moved from being behind the desk to standing within arms length of Dick. "I will notify the Justice League."

"We'll need to tell Young Justice too," said Wally. And for a moment, the fastest teen alive had the full attention of the two world's best detectives.

"Wally is right," said Dick, as he turned to look back at Bruce. "The team has a right to know. Deathstroke knows who I am, which could endanger them."

Nodding his head, Bruce said nothing. He walked back around the desk and sat down. "Wallace. I need to speak with Dick alone."

Not needing to be told twice, Wally glanced at Dick. Giving the dark haired boy a gentle punch in the left shoulder, Wally left the room. After the door shut, there was a moment of silence in the room before Dick's eyes widened again.

"Oh my god, Bruce," blurted out the teenager, as he stared at his mentor. "If Deathstroke knows who I am then he may know who you are!"

With a nod, Bruce steepled his fingers near his mouth and leaned back in his chair. "I know, Dick. I know."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please don't forget to leave a review! :)