Author's note:
Alright, this is the LAST CHAPTER in my story so be ready. I hope you like it and when it's finished, you'll see why I'm ready to do a sequel. Anyway, I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy :);)
Chapter 16
The Truth in Life
Robin floated through the glittering water half awake and watching the sun as began to turn the water into sparkling crystal. Many things floated through his head as he remained weightless in the water. He could feel himself begin to slip into darkness even as his life passed before his eyes. Words and conversations echoed through the liquid substance like bells resounding in a chapel.
"Who's there? I don't want any trouble," the robber said.
"You should have thought about that before you committed the crime!" Robin answered, stepping out of the shadows.
"Hey, this isn't your town," said the now terrified robber. "Aren't you suppose to be with...?"
"Just moved here and from now on I work alone!" Robin interrupted.
"Titans go!" Robin shouted.
"Keep your hands off my girl," Fang said threateningly. Starfire blasted him easily.
"Keep your legs off my boy," she said.
"They are too numerous to fight. What shall we do?" Starfire asked.
"Fight anyway," Robin answered.
"We've got a piñata shaped like Beastboy," Cyborg tempted Raven. "You know you wanna smack him."
"No one could ever take your place," Robin said to Starfire.
"You've got a problem, Tin Man?" Robin demanded.
"Ya, it's four feet tall and smells like cheap hair gel!" Cyborg shouted.
"All you care about is destruction!" Robin said.
"And all you care about, you destroy," Slade countered.
"Knock it off! I can't work with you two acting like idiots!" Robin shouted.
"Great Robin, more yelling will definitely stop all the yelling," Raven said, monotonously.
"No more Robin yelling at Robin," Starfire pleaded.
"C'mon, Raven, you know I'm hilarious. And I'm not gonna give up until I get you to smile. OK, why did the aardvark cross the road?" Beastboy asked.
"To beat up the idiot telling jokes about it?" Raven said, solemnly.
"Be proud and cheerful Robin, you competed well," Starfire said, happily.
"Winning isn't everything," Raven added.
"Yeah…" Robin said. "It's just the only thing that matters…"
"When there's trouble, you know who to call," Robin said.
"There will always be someone to do things the easy way," the True Master told Robin. "You must learn to do things the right way."
"Who knows…?" Slade said. "I could become like a father to you."
"I already have a father," Robin said.
All these things passed through him in seconds, but the word "father" resounded strongest and clearest as the longest echo in Robin's slowly fading brain. As darkness rose again to claim him, one last thought entered his mind.
"I wish I could've told him…that…I'm sorry," Robin thought. He looked up and saw the light of the rising sun and a gloved, black hand reaching down towards him before he fell unconscious.
Batman broke the surface of the water and gasped for breath. In his arm he held Robin's limp body and he prayed that he wasn't too late to save his son. Batman reached into his utility belt and pulled a grappling hook out. He took careful aim and fired up at the bridge. It felt like they rose too slowly, but in truth it only took a few seconds to reach the top and climb onto solid ground. Batman placed Robin gently on the ground and tried to rouse him, but he didn't wake up.
"Come on, Robin," Batman whispered. "Dick, listen to me! Come back." But Robin remained still. Batman looked around for help and saw that everyone was gathering on a roof nearby. "I won't lose you again. I won't," Bruce said. "Please, Dick, wake up." Robin coughed up some water and pushed himself onto his hands and knees.
"You...you saved me," Robin said.
"You saved me first," Batman said.
"Thanks," Robin said. "For everything." Batman grinned and saw that everyone else was gathering on a nearby roof.
"Come on, let's go," he said. The two of them swung easily to the roof where Robin was immediately greeted by most of his friends. Starfire gave him a hug while Raven let her hood drop and Cyborg patted him on the shoulders. Overhead, two ships flew over and one of them sucked up the net and flew down to the roof where a hatch opened and Beastboy stood up triumphantly.
"Watchtower is secure!" he declared. "Kilowatt figured out how to use the teleporter and sent all the villains to their home town high security prisons."
"Then we have won!" Starfire cheered. Beastboy jumped down and the ship flew off, leaving the original Titans to face the original Justice League. The latter stood, awkwardly shifting in spot until someone spoke up.
"I suppose we owe you an apology," Flash said.
"We all do," Superman said.
"So...we're sorry," Diana said. "We shouldn't have judged you Raven, but…"
"But…you know how it is," Lantern said. "Something we don't understand is…"
"It's difficult to take," Batman said.
"Hey, we all make mistakes," Beastboy said.
"The important thing is that we make sure we don't make the same mistake again," Robin said. "You were all afraid of Raven's demon side, but you should worry about her human side more, because that's the side of her that matters most." Raven blushed slightly. Clapping caught their attention and they turned to see Slade on the edge of the building.
"Well said, Robin," he said. "Very touching. Very…inspiring."
"What are you doing here?" Robin asked.
"Naturally, I had to make sure that my favorite enemy made it through…unscathed," Slade said.
"Why?" Diana asked.
"Because that's my job," Slade said.
"Well you know that I have to arrest you now," Robin said. "This little truce is over."
"And I wouldn't have it any other way," Slade said. "But come now, you're not really being fair, are you?"
"Who said anything about being fair?" Raven asked. All the Titans and Justice League prepared for a fight except Robin who stood and looked at Slade hard as he tried to decide what to do.
"I'll probably kick myself for this later, but fine," Robin said. "You've got ten minutes to get as far away as you can. Then we all come after you." Everyone stared at Robin, but behind the mask, Slade smirked.
"You know, they say you hate someone because they remind you of yourself. What do you think, Robin?" Slade asked. Robin didn't answer, so Slade smashed a smoke pellet on the ground and Robin threw something at the cloud. But when it cleared, Slade was gone.
"I'm nothing like you," Robin said, quietly.
"You're just letting him go?" Shayera said. "Just for the sake of being fair?"
"Who said it was fair?" Robin asked, with a grin. "I planted a tracking device on him before he left. We'll find him and stop him. But there are other things I need to say."
"So, say them," Batman said.
"I'm sorry," Robin said. "Sorry that I left when I did and sorry that I didn't keep in contact with you."
"Like your friend said, we all make mistakes," Flash said.
"And I'll be sure to not make the same mistake," Robin said.
"What do you mean?" Starfire asked.
"I'm thinking it's about time we take a vacation," Robin said. "I'm thinking that I should come back in a few weeks."
"But…I thought we were going to Mexico?" Beastboy asked. Raven slapped him at that.
"No, Robin needs a vacation," Cyborg said. "You take a break and we'll stay and make sure that you have a city to come back to."
"Besides, we'll have a new job when you leave anyway," Raven said. Beastboy suddenly seemed to remember something and grinned, Starfire giggled gleefully and Cyborg also smiled.
"Okay, what are you guys planning?" Batgirl asked. Robin approached, smiling and held out his hand with a Titan's communicator in it.
"We talked about it, and we decided that you earned this," he said. Batgirl gazed at the yellow device in disbelief.
"You're not serious, are you? I can't leave and join your team!" she said.
"We don't ask that you do," Cyborg said.
"Some of our independent members are called honorary Titans and that's what you'll be," Robin said. "Because you've got responsibilities here, we only ask that you take this and help out occasionally or if you need help. As our saying goes, 'when there's trouble, you know who to call.'" Batgirl took it and smiled. Then she gave Robin a large hug.
"Thank you," she said. All the other Titans came over to congratulate her and Batgirl was happy.
"So, the plan is when Robin comes back, you get to come to our home and we'll give you the full Titan tour," Beastboy said.
"But for now, I think we just beat an army of villains from here to the next galaxy and helped save one of the greatest superhero teams on Earth! You know what that means?" Cyborg asked. "An all-out Titan pizza party!"
"Pizza for breakfast?" Beastboy asked. "Why not?"
"Yes, let us party!" Starfire cheered.
"Alright, let's just make sure that everyone is on their way and then we'll head home," Robin said. The Titans nodded and headed off in various directions to check on everyone. "Care to join us, Batgirl?" Robin asked. "You are a member of the team now, and that means joining in on celebrations." Batgirl grinned.
"Sure, I'll just give my dad a call so he doesn't worry about me," she said. "I've been gone for four weeks now." With that she jumped off the roof and onto her bike. Robin looked at the Justice League.
"Do you want to come too?" he asked.
"We'll leave the party to you guys," Superman said. "I think the rest of us want to get a little sleep." Everyone nodded in agreement. Robin grinned and walked to the edge where he turned around.
"I guess I'll see you in a few weeks, Batman," he said.
"I look forward to it," Batman said. Robin nodded and continued smiling as he raised his hand in a salute.
"Titans together, Titans forever," he said. That was when Starfire flew over and grabbed his raised hand before they flew off together. The Justice League watched as the Titans rode or flew away into the rising sun, content.
"You must be proud," Superman said as he placed a hand on Batman's shoulder. They all flew or ran away to their homes leaving Batman standing alone in his city with the Titan signal still on and he allowed himself a small smile like he did sometimes.
"Yes," he said. "I'm very proud of him…of my son."
Author's note:
And done! Are you happy? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Are you excited for the sequel, Robin's Vacation, Batgirl's Training? Message me and let me know! I'm excited for all your feed back so don't hold back and if you have any suggestions for the sequel, don't hesitate to send them to me. I take all messages and suggestions very seriously...despite my personality. And to patattack, I told you I'd use the motto you sent me. Did you like where I put it? I hope you'll read the next one when it's ready. Until then, I declare this story over, but you'll hear from me again very soon! Goodbye for now :);)
