Many thanks to Xaphrin. It was a little hard to hear, but your criticism was very well placed, and I feel like I made this chapter much better because of it. So thanks. It's still not very dark and brooding, but I feel like I got more of what I meant them to be into the arguments. I hope this is more to your liking. (ps. more dark and brooding is sure to come)

Fully Alive: Chapter 2: A Robin's Guide to Winning Arguments

Gotham's young protector swiftly returned to the manor that his secret identity had called home since his parents' death when he was only eight. Robin did not expect the Batman, his guardian Bruce Wayne, to return from patrol for another hour at least. So, without worrying about his mentor's reaction, he carried the still unconscious young girl to a guest bedroom and gently laid her down on the bed.

Tilting his head, Robin paused to observe her. Laying there, dwarfed by the huge guest bed, legs crooked at the knee, hair making a halo of purple around her head, Raven looked so fragile. Yet he had personally seen the damage she was capable of. She threw three full grown men against a wall. She ran almost thirty miles through a forest. That thought made his eyes narrow; what had she been running from so desperately?

With powers like hers, and with as little control as he had seen her use, he could imagine what kind of damage she had the potential to do. He would have to look into the Gotham Preparatory School for Girls and see if anything notable had occurred that could tell him about her. But he just couldn't imagine that she would want to do any damage. From his observations that night, she was proud, brave and intelligent. She fought back when threatened. He did not believe she had it in her to hurt others without reason. If he had believed otherwise, he would have called Batman and let the Justice League take care of her. Untrained metas posed huge threats to the world around them, whether just by setting off accidents in unhindered bursts of power, or their frustration with their drawbacks leading them to lives of crime. So many super villains had become so because they simply lost patience with the world that shunned them for being different, and Robin did not want that for Raven.

Glancing over her he noted once again with concern the numerous scratches on her body. Her knees were crusted with dried blood and dirt. Further abrasions covered her legs. A long scratch threatened to scar her porcelain cheek. She needed to be cleaned up or risk infection.

Pursing his lips in worry, he reluctantly left her to call Alfred, their butler, and grab a first aid kit from the bathroom down the hall. Bruce made sure that the house had well-stocked first aid kits throughout the house- you never knew when you might need a needle and thread or a shot of adrenaline in the superhero business. As he exited the bathroom, Alfred approached, stoic as ever, but worried underneath the facade. Alfred knew from experience that it did not bode well when one of the boys came home early and got out a first aid kit.

"Are you alright, master Dick?" Alfred asked.

Richard 'Dick' Grayson turned to the butler, looking at the grandfatherly man through his mask, and nodded. He raised his arm that didn't hold the kit and gestured to his clean uniform, showing the total lack of injuries he had sustained that night- a pleasant change for him and Alfred, who generally treated their injuries, both- and said, "I'm alright, Alfie."

An eyebrow rose on the face of the man who had practically raised Robin as he noted the slight emphasis on "I." Alfred took a step forward and asked, "Then for whom, if you don't mind my asking, did you retrieve the first aid kit?"

Robin seemed to shrink microscopically under his guilt. When he had brought Raven back to the manor he knew that it would not go over well with his two guardians. But even though he dreaded explaining this to Bruce and Alfred, he found no regret in what he had done. He had valid, sensible reasons for personally protecting this girl, and he would defend them. And her.

"I found a girl on the streets. She ran away from her school, literally ran nearly thirty miles, then almost got mugged. She didn't have any place to stay," Robin said.

"So you brought her here?" He hadn't asked it rudely, but Robin could sense the incredulity in Alfred, as if the Englishman was really saying, 'Didn't we teach you better?'

"She's a meta," Robin stated seriously. Alfred's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "But she doesn't seem to have control over her powers. I thought it would be best to have her here, especially since she collapsed from exhaustion and, possibly, shock. I'm going to clean up some of her wounds. Could you manage to scrounge up some clothes for her to wear? Hers are all torn up, and when she wakes up she will probably want to bathe."

"Of course, sir. What clothing size would you say she is?" Alfred asked. Though he didn't know much about women's clothes, Robin did know quite well how to judge a person's height and weight, so he supplied Alfred with accurate measurements, and they both walked off to task.

Robin reentered the room quietly, afraid of waking her. Upon observation, though, he decided that it would probably take quite a lot to wake Raven at the moment. To his worry, she still had not regained consciousness. She laid on the bed motionlessly, her breaths hardly seeming to exist. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Robin put a hand at her open lips, and to his relief, felt faint breaths pass his fingers.

Starting with her bloody and dirty knees, Robin wiped away the grime with a washcloth soaked in hot water that he had also brought from the bathroom. He gently cleaned off the dirt on all of her wounds, all the while wondering about the girl. Who was she, really? How did she acquire those powers? Could he find someone to train her? What had happened to her parents?

A gentle knock on the door interrupted his reverie after almost an hour. He turned to see Alfred holding a set of women's clothes, just a simple shirt and jeans that Dick thought must have been left behind by Barbara at one time. With a tilt of the head, Robin gestured for Alfred to enter the room. He did so, and set the clothes on the nightstand beside Raven's sleeping head. Turning to leave the room, Alfred leaned down to quietly inform the boy, "Master Bruce has returned home, and wishes to speak with you, sir."

Robin nodded. "Thanks. Did you tell him about, you know, her?" he asked, gesturing towards Raven.

Alfred answered, "I informed him that you had brought home a young lady who needed assistance."

"And what was his response to that?"

"No more than the usual scowl, sir," Alfred assured as he exited the room. Robin nodded again and got up from his seat on the bed. He followed Alfred out the room, and upon entering the hallway was immediately met by a large man dressed as a bat. Not expecting it, Robin jumped.

"Bruce," he breathed, "you scared me."

Batman showed no reaction to the odd nervousness of his young ward, but Dick knew that he most certainly noticed and cataloged it for later scrutiny. Instead, he simply asked, "You brought a girl home?"

The Batman's voice did not betray any emotion; it was not harsh or curious, in fact it was practically a statement, so Robin did not know what to expect from his guardian. "Yeah. She collapsed," Robin answered, keeping his own voice from sounding guilty or defensive. He should have known better than to think Bruce wouldn't lose his temper.

"You brought someone back to the manor while you were in costume? You could blow both our identities doing that! What were you thinking?" Bruce half-shouted. Robin flinched at the sound, half out of guilt from the reprimand, half out of fear that the noise would bother Raven.

Prepared to defend his actions, Robin started in a much lower tone, "You don't understand, she wasn't just-"

He didn't get to finish, as the Batman raised his hand to silence him. "Never mind about that, I'll speak to you more on the subject later. Alfred can take care of her for now; we have work to do. I just heard about a major incident at the girls' prep school outside the city." He noticed Robin stiffen slightly when he mentioned the school, but didn't have the time to wonder about it. "Apparently there was a meta in hiding there; she tore down half a building and ran off earlier today. We have to find her. We're heading over to the school right now to track her down."

Batman turned to head to the bat-cave, but Robin couldn't make his feet move. "Bruce," he practically whispered.

The man didn't hear his sidekick as he thought out loud, "She was last seen in the forest, taking hiking trails that led to the city. After a little over an hour the mob- it was definitely a mob, those people were out for blood, really violent- that was chasing her gave up, but she was definitely headed for Gotham."

"Bruce," Robin sighed, his head swirling in shock, but slowly clearing. Again, he wasn't heard.

"She had purple hair and eyes, which means she won't be difficult to pick out in a crowd, unless she's managed to dye it. That's assuming of course that she made it to the city and went to a store. We could find her on video surveillance if that's the case. Generally speaking, we should expect her to make it to the city either late tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on whether she sleeps in the forest or not. The only way she could have made it here already would be if she had excellent stamina, but even then, I can't imagine a fifteen year old girl would be able to stand on her feet, she would have... collapsed."

Suddenly, he stopped, and spun on his heel to look at his sidekick. Robin's shoulder's slouched seemingly in defeat as he said one last short, resigned, "Bruce."

And it all clicked in the Batman's detective mind. He had trained Robin better than to compromise their identities by bringing someone back to the manor. No wonder he had been jumpy earlier. Dick would never do something so thoughtless unless he had a really good reason. A good reason such as an unconscious meta. His eyes questioned Dick, and the younger of the Dynamic Duo simply nodded in confirmation of the unspoken query.

Batman's feet swiftly carried him back to the door that Robin had exited only minutes earlier. Without knocking, he turned the handle and swung it open. He gasped lightly at the sight before him.

The young, purple-haired girl he had been about to search for was floating a foot above one of his guest beds.

Robin vocalized his shock. "Whoa. She was not doing that before."

The boy passed Batman and entered the room. At her bedside, he looked down at her face, which looked perfectly peaceful, as if she were in a trance. After a moment, he noticed with shock that the cut on her cheek was healing rapidly. Before his eyes it disappeared. Checking her other wounds, he couldn't find any left, except for the nearly gone scrapes on her knees. She was healing herself, he realized. Though her injuries were minor, her exhaustion likely had made healing a necessity.

"Robin."

The command made him turn out of sheer force of habit. If Batman calls, Robin will answer. Life worked that way for 'Batman and Robin.' Sometimes he resented it.

Without another word, Batman turned from the door, and Robin followed him out with one last glance at the floating occupant of the room.

The barrage didn't begin immediately. Batman waited for Robin to shut the guest room door behind him, and then initiated a battle of glares. After several agonizing, tense minutes, Batman broke the silence.

"What were you thinking, Dick?" Bruce asked accusingly.

Dick stood tall, silently telling Bruce that he would not back down. He told his mentor, "She needed help."

"So you brought her here?" Bruce echoed Alfred's earlier question. "We don't know the extent of her powers, or the extent of her morals! She is dangerous."

Dick shook his head, "I don't think she is."

"Dick, she just brought down a building full of people. It's a miracle that she didn't kill anyone."

"I don't think she did it on purpose-"

The Batman practically growled, "That doesn't make any difference, Robin."

"But I don't think she is in full control of her powers."

"That's even worse! Did you think about the danger when you brought a meta into the manor? She has already proven that she could destroy the whole thing with her powers. If she can't control them, then she could kill us at any moment. She can't stay here. You should have called me, so that I or the rest of the League could take care of her."

Robin visibly bristled. "'Take care of her?' What does that mean? Would you have killed her? Or imprisoned her just because she has powers that she hasn't been trained to use? We're supposed to help people!"

Batman crossed his arms, annoyed at the boy's tone. "The League would have handled the situation as it saw fit. But never would JLA members have endangered themselves by bringing a very powerful, undisciplined super-powered teenager into their homes."

Dick scoffed, "Well, I would rather treat her like a human, not a test subject, or worse, a threat to everyone around her. I'm sorry for bringing her here without your permission, but I believe I did the right thing. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if she woke up. I don't want her to come to alone in a strange place."

Really, he should have known Bruce better than that after all of those years.

"Dick, don't you dare walk away from me."

The boy in question turned to his guardian, both still in full costume, and matched the man's glare. An impressive feat, considering who he was looking at. No one out-glares Batman, especially not 'that laughing daredevil' Robin. Not even when Robin had great motivation to do so.

The battle of glares ensued for several passing seconds, and in the end Robin, inevitably, backed down. He looked down at his steel toed shoes, shoulders slumped in defeat. He glanced up from under his eyelashes- despite the mask covering his eyes- only to see Batman still glaring, even post-victory.

"She can't stay here," the Bat said from under the cowl.

"Where do you suggest she go?" asked his partner incredulously.

"I don't know, as long as it's not in this manor. I don't want her finding out our identities."

Dick scoffed, "So rather than telling her our names, you'd put a potentially dangerous, untrained meta on the streets of Gotham City? That's a great plan, Bruce. Just let all the scum in the city find her and possibly get killed when she panics and her powers burst out. Yeah, if we let her do that for a while, we won't have much work to do. Yup, I'll just go drop her down in Crime Alley and let her clean up."

Dick turned to head towards Raven's door, until Bruce said, "Dick, you're being unreasonable. She can't stay here."

Dick pivoted, crossed his arms, and tilted his head. "And why not? She'd be safer here than wandering the streets. We'd have to keep a constant eye on her out there anyway. She'd put people in danger. If she's here, we can watch her more easily, protect the citizens from her, and maybe help her take control of her powers." He sighed and continued, his voice imploring, "We can help her, Bruce. And she needs help."

He walked back down the hall to the door of Raven's room, leaving Batman standing in the same spot. The costumed man shook his head. The boy was right, but he had lost an argument with his sixteen year old son, and that irked him. Sighing, he turned and headed back to the Batcave. They would need to find out more about her if she was going to stay there.

Robin quietly knocked before slipping into the room. Looking towards the bed, he felt his heart fill with fear when he realized she no longer occupied it. From the center of the floor, his eyes scoured the sparsely lit room for half a moment before a quiet voice made him turn.

"Why would you fight over me?"

He finally found her leaning against the wall beside the door. Her hair and clothes were still disheveled, but her wounds had all healed, and her eyes now were sharp, clear and suspicious. When she spoke, her voice sounded detached and emotionless, except for suspicion and distrust. Despite her tone, Robin breathed a sigh of relief. At least he hadn't lost her- Batman would be really mad, then.

"Hi," he smiled at her. "It's good to see you awake. I didn't really have a chance to introduce myself earlier, but I'm-"

She interrupted with impatience, "You're Robin, I know. I do read newspapers, Boy Wonder, and you're in them almost every day."

"Well, it's Teen Wonder these days." His miffed tone made Raven smirk in amusement.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you turn thirteen this year?" she scoffed. Why was he even wasting her time with this?

"Actually I'm sixteen, thank you very much, as of last week."*

She quipped mockingly, "Shouldn't you be taller, then?" She paused a moment while he practically pouted. Mildly glad she had upset him, she took the moment while his guard was down to repeat, "You never answered my question- why would you fight over me?"

Robin tilted his head. "I took an oath to protect people. Why wouldn't I fight for you?"

"I'm sure Batman took the same oath, but he told you I'm dangerous and shouldn't stay here. He's right," she said, glaring at the painting on the wall beside her as if it had caused all her problems.

Robin stepped forward, closing the large space between them only by a fraction, which still made her look at him with suspicion. He said, "Well, you don't look so dangerous to me." he smiled charmingly.

She, resuming her glaring, though targeting the vigilante this time, quoted, "I am not what I am."**

"Shakespeare, really? You know, I did see your power in the alley earlier. I was rather impressed." He took another step forward.

Turning her head away, she looked guiltily at her now-bare feet as she answered defensively, "What's your point?"

"You can't control your powers can you?"

He received no answer.

"I saw you throw those guys like ten feet. But then you didn't fight the last one. It's because you couldn't make the power come, am I right?"

She remained stubbornly silent.

"Come on, Raven, talk to me," he begged.

"Just leave me alone," she whispered in response.

Shaking his head, he told her, "I can't do that. You're under my care now. I want to help you, but you have to tell me how."

Raven furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes at the persistent boy. "I'll make it easy for you, then. I'm leaving, and none of you will ever have to see me again."

The door was slammed shut even as she began to open it. She looked with surprise at the green-gloved hand that had forced it closed.

"And where were you planning to go?" demanded a suddenly angry and serious sidekick.

Icily she spoke to the door rather than turn to face him, "I don't see how that is any of your business."

"Well I do, so tell me where you thought you were going," he parried in a suddenly light tone that suggested they were discussing ice cream flavors. It made Raven bristle with anger, and an expensive-looking vase shattered on a dresser close by.

"Look bird boy, I don't care that you have a hero complex and feel the need to save everyone. Go ahead and risk your life every night to protect people who don't give a damn about you. But the fact of the matter is that you cannot help me," she growled, "so just let me go!" She pushed angrily at the hand that kept the door shut, but couldn't make the powerful boy shift, no matter how she pushed and scratched. With a grunt of outrage, she pounded the wood of the door with her fist. A black tendril of her soul-self burst out and slammed into Robin, knocking him to the ground. For a moment she didn't realize what she had done until she heard his grunt of pain.

The blow had knocked all the air out of him. As she turned around he tried to catch his breath.

Eyes wide, she knelt down beside him. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I told you I was dangerous." Her eyes narrowed in pain as she looked away from him. "You should have just let me go. I won't stay in the city long. Y ou don't have to worry about watching out for me."

She started to get up, but he grabbed her hand. "I can't let you go," he told her slightly breathlessly. "You're right; you are dangerous. But we can get you help. We can find you someone who can teach you to control your powers."

She looked down at him suspiciously. He sat up, letting go of her hand, and she stood up straight. "What do you really want from me?"

"Nothing. I just want to help. I picked you up off the ground in an alley, so I'm pretty sure you need some."

He watched her take several deep breaths. Considering how she had just lashed out, she seemed much calmer now. Looking down at him, her eyes sadly implored him to leave her alone, but he didn't avert his gaze, simply stared into her eyes, looking for all the world like the most trustworthy teenager alive.

In one last attempt that he knew her heart was not really in, she told him, "You can't help me. No one can."

Neither broke eye contact as he shook his head. "I don't believe that, and I won't until I've tried anything and everything. Please stay. If you have no where else, even if we can't help you, you can stay here."

"I don't believe Batman shared your sentiments."

"He'll get over it; he's just worried you'll destroy the house or kill us, but he's more afraid of what you could do left alone in Gotham. So does that mean you're not saying no anymore?"

His excitement worried Raven. He should not get so attached to her. However, she truly had no where else to go. Might as well take the chance to have a good night's rest, she figured. "You," she hedged, "are not allowing me to say no."

Robin seemed to consider this, getting off the floor and standing close beside her, before conceding, "You're right, I'm not. Well, I should go talk to Batman, calm him down, you know. He's probably still steamed that I walked away from him. Alfie, our butler, brought you some clean clothes, and this room's en suite is right through that door," he pointed. "I figured you'd want a shower after the day you've had. We can talk more about your powers and the incident at the school later."

He started to leave, but as he reached for the doorknob, a pale hand touched his arm, calling his attention back to the violet-eyed girl. She looked into his eyes, seeming a little desperate. It surprised him.

"The school," she whispered, "I really didn't mean to do it. It was an accident. I couldn't... I can't..." She choked, and trailed off.

Robin's hand clasped her own that rested on his arm. He squeezed it softly in reassurance. "I know," he said. "I never believed you did it on purpose."

For the first time since meeting her and saving her, Robin was looked at by Raven with gratitude. In a split second, Robin sensed that Raven had never been accepted by anyone, nor believed by anyone when she told them that she couldn't stop the mysterious events that occurred around her. People had shunned her when they saw her powers. The school had formed an angry mob to chase her that morning, for God's sakes. They made her feel like a monster.

Well, he decided right there as he let go of her and headed to see a moody Batman once again, he would change that.

*According to the Nightwing: Year One comics, Dick's birthday is March 21. I used that to set the story in late March, but most of you probably didn't know Dick's birthday, especially since it used to be Nov 11, then it changed to late Oct, and now it's March. Oh, DC and their nonsensical continuity...

** "I am not what I am" A quote from the duplicitous character Iago, from Othello, one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies. An excellent read. Anyone interested in real literature (which should be all writers) should definitely read it.

REVIEW! Review, Favorite, Alert. Just, if you like the story, show appreciation somehow. Love you! Cheers!