Disclaimer: Oh poop, I don't own Teen Titans or DC comics.

A/N: You guys, I'm really sad that this is the last chapter before the epilogue. I've worked on this for so long…it's really become a part of me. Can any of you say "epic"? Really, this story is getting to be so long.

Oh, and Halloween was fantastic! My friends and I didn't plan our costumes together, but half of our group ended up being characters from the DC universe. The peeps: Green Lantern (me), Poison Ivy, Batman, Catwoman and we found someone dressed as Robin so we took a picture together. One professor exclaimed: "wow, the whole Justice League is here!"

LOLZ.

In other news:

Dear Lord in Heaven how am I at 7,300 words for my NaNoWriMo novel? I WROTE IN CLASS THAT'S WHY. I COULD NOT HEAR THE LECTURE OVER THE AWESOME SOUND OF MY KEYBOARD SMASHING.

Thank you, Kingofrandom, for pointing out my mistake with Atom. For some reason, even though I know it's not true, I always call Dr. Palmer "Captain Atom" even though that's not really his name. Apologies. It is fixed now. I have too many characters to keep track of, so sometimes I slip. SERIOUSLY, POINT OUT MISTAKES/INCONSISTENCIES. I WILL FIX THEM.

"You're not alone, together we stand.

I'll be by your side you know I'll take your hand.

When it gets cold and it feels like the end

There's no place to go you know I won't give in.

No, I won't give in."

-Avril Lavigne, "Keep Holding On"

Chapter 30: Sunrise

-S-

6:08am

Jump City, California

Titans Tower

All five of the Titans stood on top of Titans Tower. Although she felt dreadfully tired and knew that she should go to bed she just wanted to watch the sunrise. They faced Jump City, towards the east where the sun was rising. A few stars still lingered on the pink horizon.

After encountering the Justice League the Titans wanted nothing more than to collapse onto their beds, but there was one more thing they needed to do. Within the hour—after making sure that the dust was completely gone from their systems—Cyborg tracked down the signal using Slade's mask. They followed the signal to an empty warehouse where, indeed, they found an automated trigger.

Only then did Robin dare to explain the events.

They slept for a few hours, but none of them could sleep long. Even though all of the action was over, Starfire knew that there were things they still needed to do. Things that still needed to be said and explained. Hesitantly, Robin explained. And the rest of the Titans listened in silence.

"So…Slade was behind all of this," Cyborg said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah…" Robin replied softly. "This time it really was my fault."

"No, it wasn't," Raven said, "you have to stop beating yourself up for these things, Robin."

"Slade knew exactly how I would act. I'm the reason we're been so screwed over."

He looked to the side of the building and wrapped his arms around his chest, as though he was trying to hug himself. He had changed out of that horrid uniform and back into his normal colors, but he still looked weary.

"It's not your fault," Cyborg said, "it's Slade's fault. You did nothing wrong."

"Yeah…stop beating yourself up," Beast Boy said.

Why did he still blame himself for these things? Starfire still did not understand. Why could he not just accept the fact that sometimes things just happened? There would always be circumstances one could never control.

"And Batman…" he said, hanging his head a little. "He was targeted too."

The Batman. She did not even realize that the Justice League was involved until Flash and Zatanna appeared in front of them. Robin furrowed his brow as he thought of his mentor.

"But everything's okay," Beast Boy said. "Batman didn't go crazy, right?"

Robin said nothing. Even though Superman came none of the other JLA members explained what happened in Gotham. All that the Titans knew was that Batman was also infected with the dust and that, technically, this all really was Robin's fault.

Like the others, Starfire knew that putting the blame on Robin wasn't the right thing to do. Not now. It didn't matter if this was his fault or not. The day was saved. No lasting harm was done to anyone.

"I think you should go back to bed," Raven said.

He nodded vaguely, somewhat listening to his friend.

"There's just one thing I want to do," Robin said.

He held Slade's cracked mask in his hand. Robin walked to the edge of the rooftop. He brought his arm back and flung Slade's mask over the side of the Tower. It glinted in the morning sun as it flew through the air, spinning as it flew in a parabolic curve downwards.

A few seconds later Starfire heard it hit the water. She watched him stand on the edge, looking down at the water as though he regretted doing this. But Starfire knew that he had done the right thing. Relief spread across his face.

"I think we should take the day off," Robin said, turning towards them. A wide smile spread across his face. "Maybe we'll hit the beach this afternoon or something."

"Sounds good," Cyborg said, yawning. "I'm off to bed."

The others disbanded and went back inside of the Tower. Starfire and Robin stayed behind on the rooftop. She wanted to say something to him, but couldn't find the right words. He simply stood on the edge of the Tower, looking out over the ocean.

"Robin…" she said.

"What?"

"You are smiling."

He laughed quietly under his breath. "So I am."

"There is one thing that I wish to ask of you." She was unsure how to word her question. "That video message that Slade left for you in the main computer…I want to know…know what you said to him to make him so angry."

He looked at her thoughtfully. Starfire knew that she should not be asking this question so soon after the events of the night before, but the question had been burning inside of her all week. Like Robin, she just wanted to understand.

"It started as a training session," he said. "Normal as things could be with Slade. I know he made it look like he beat me all of the time, but the truth was that he didn't. If I said the wrong thing or refused to follow an order then he would beat me."

Starfire watched him fidget a little.

"He asked me a question. I suppose that he knew the conversation would end badly, but he wanted to make a point."

"What did he ask you?"

"He asked me if…he asked me why I didn't just let you guys die to save myself." Robin's voice shook a little. "We got into an argument. We were always arguing, you know. Even over stupid things. Like usual, the argument ended in a fistfight."

"And…then?"

"I said that I would never let that happen, not even to save myself. He wanted to test that theory. Slade goaded me until I fought back. That day he beat me so badly…he wanted to see how much pain it would take me to ask him to stop…he wanted to see if I would snap from the pressure. If I would ask for him to kill you so that the pain would stop."

Starfire opened her mouth to ask him what happened after that, but she noticed the pained expression on his face. No more questions were needed. Obviously, Robin did not snap. He leaned back on his hands and sighed.

"Oh, we're similar," Robin said, "but at the same time we're very different. He would never use himself as a human shield. Maybe at one point in his life…back when he had a family, but Slade is too focused. Too determined. I was never always so determined. And I think that, deep down, I'm still the same little acrobat flying on the trapezes."

They spent a moment together on the rooftop and hugged. He leaned in close to her face, touching their foreheads together as they closed their eyes. For a minute they simply stood there and enjoyed each other's company. She remembered their heartfelt confrontation last night when he shook her out of her trance. Just being with him now was the best thing in the world.

But, as usual, there were things that needed to get done. She knew that Robin would want to speak with the Batman even though he never mentioned the man's name. The boy wonder placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"I'm glad you're safe."

Robin kissed her on the cheek before going back into the Tower. As he walked away Starfire smiled a little as her cheeks turned a bright pink color. She giggled a little.

A new day indeed.

-AK-

6:03am

Jump City, California

Kane Residence

"You did well, Joey," Adeline said.

"Thanks, mom," he replied.

Possessing Dr. Light was a clever thing to do. Adeline didn't think that she would have thought of that herself, if given the chance to do anything. Sometimes she forgot that her son had such strange powers.

"Will they trust us now?" Jericho asked.

"I believe so."

So…Slade had been behind this the whole time. That didn't surprise her.

While she was glad that Slade was dead Adeline felt a little put down that she didn't get to kill the man herself.

She took out another cigarette and lit it. Perhaps she should go to bed after running around Jump City all night. Although she felt tired she didn't feel like going to bed. Joey apparently felt the same way.

"I still don't understand why dad wanted to go after Robin," Jericho said. "Is it because of Grant?"

Looking down at her son, who looked so much like his father, Adeline felt pride swell within her breast. She was glad that Jericho chose the hero path instead of the mercenary path that his father and older brother decided to take. Here, at least, was someone in her broken family whom she could be proud of.

"I wish I had the answers to those questions," Adeline replied. "But since your father's dead we'll just have to make do with the answers we have."

Adeline picked up a frame holding a picture of her entire family. A handsome Slade Wilson still stood in the background with a comforting hand on Adeline's shoulder. She didn't rip Slade out of the picture. That was a childish thing to do. And despite the fact that she hated Slade she had to admit that…in his rather odd way…he was a good father to Grant. Grant loved him. He loved him so much that he followed in his father's footsteps.

"Perhaps it is time for you to take a little…vacation," Adeline said. "Robin knows who you are. If he needs your help, he'll call you."

As Joey went upstairs to go to bed Adeline took out another cigarette. The most poignant thing on her mind was Robin. She had to admit that she admired the boy's courage. Although she didn't tell Robin, she had tracked down Slade's location after she realized that Slade held the boy captive. She knew just how badly Slade beat the boy. How badly he demoralized the boy. But even after all of that Robin put his life on the line to save his friends.

He had survived.

"And good luck to you too, boy wonder," she said softly. "Mr. Grayson."

-R-

6:46am

Jump City, California

The city was recovering well.

People were already sweeping up the broken glass from the streets. Robin walked down the street without his costume on. The JLA wanted to talk to him before they headed back east. Superman had surreptitiously changed back into Clark Kent during the chaos, but no one gave him a second glance. Behind him was a redhaired man. Barry Allen.

Robin found himself slouching towards the two men. He felt a plethora of emotions rushing through him. All at once he wanted to sleep, talk to people, and perhaps take some mediation to dull the pounding pain in his head.

"Are you okay?" Clark asked.

"Yeah…" Robin replied. "Just a little tired."

Clark caught Robin's chin and turned his face to look at the bruises. "Get those looked at, won't you?"

"I will."

Robin's eyes glanced towards the ground. The bruises didn't worry him. He had been through worse before. "And…how's Bruce?"

Robin asked this almost timidly. He hadn't yet checked in with Gotham to see how Bruce was doing. He meant to call Alfred sometime soon, but was a little afraid to talk to Bruce. Even after everything they had gone through he preferred to talk to Bruce via Alfred or Clark.

"Bruce is fine," Clark replied. "Had a little trouble with Kryptonite, but everything's fine now. He understands what happened."

Robin heard through the grapevine about Bruce and Clark's confrontation. Even though he knew that it was all Slade's fault he still couldn't help but blame himself. His friends continually told him that he was wrong, that he should blaming himself for these things, and he knew that they were right. But how could he break out of the habit?

"I'm sorry for everything!" Robin burst out.

Clark bent down a little so that he was face-to-face with him. He placed his large hands on Dick's shoulders and squeezed them comfortingly. When he spoke it was not the tone one spoke to a small child. Clark spoke softly in a reassuring voice.

"This was not your fault. When Slade masterminded this plot he wanted you to think that it was your fault. It's not, okay?"

Fears of Slade still lingered within Robin. He knew that he might not be able to stop the nightmares from occurring, but he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Even though it took a lot of courage to even talk about these things, Robin knew that he had to talk about his fears to someone. He breathed deeply and looked to the side.

"Bruce will think it is."

He felt his heart sink at this. Because of him Bruce was targeted. Why wouldn't Bruce think this was all his fault? Clark and Barry shook their heads.

"We'll deal with Bruce," Clark said. "And have a little more faith in him, Dick. He's a good man. Sometimes he just doesn't like to show it."

Robin felt his eyes widen at this. Of course he knew that Bruce was a good man. Whoever said that he wasn't? Sure, Bruce could act like a butthead, but had Robin forgotten that Bruce was a good man? Clark smiled reassuringly.

"Don't be afraid to ask for help…because know we will do the same if we ever need it."

Clark handed him a JLA communicator. Robin clutched it tightly in his fist, feeling the weight of it in his hand. Did Clark just acknowledge the Titans as equals?

"Thanks," he said, "if there's trouble you know who to call."

Robin wrapped his arms around Clark and gave him a hug. Clark Kent was one man he knew he would never be afraid of. He was part of the family he created for himself, a man who honestly cared for well-being. A man who would never force him to do anything he didn't want to do. One of the people he could turn to in his time of need.

Barry ruffled Robin's hair affectionately.

"Get some rest, kiddo."

Clark glanced at his watch.

"Oh jeez, I need to get back to Metropolis," he said. "I need to catch up on a lot of work. Perry's already chewing me out for yesterday's unfinished article."

"Yeah, I don't know how I'm going to be able to work after all of this excitement," Barry said. "It'll just make everything else look real dull."

In the end, everyone had to duck back into the normal hum-drum of everyday lives. Robin knew that one day he would have to give up being Robin. One day he would go to college and—perhaps—pass on the mantle of Robin to a younger kid. Maybe he would become Nightwing, just like his future self in Star's vision. Robin really did like the ring of the name.

"I'll be seeing you around," Clark said, beginning to back away. "Perhaps you should visit Metropolis sometime!"

"Or Central City," Barry said. He glanced at his watch again. "Oh I better get going. I'll be five minutes late to work again."

Robin found himself laughing again. It always amazed him how Barry and Wally were always the last ones to arrive at any sort of function.

Flash moved at the speed of light back to Central City. Clark moved away and launched himself into the air. As Superman flew away Robin watched him go, silently wishing that he could fly. He then spoke softly, knowing full well that he didn't have to shout for Clark to hear.

"If we ever need help," he said, "then I'll look up in the sky."

-BW-

6:12am

Gotham City

Wayne Manor

Bruce stood outside of Wayne Manor with a cup of coffee in his hand, dressed in a maroon bath robe. He watched the sun peek over the horizon. Mist hung low on the horizon and dew clung to the plants and tree leaves. He heard Alfred open the door and walk up beside him.

"You missed your flight, sir," Alfred said.

"I know."

He stared at the cup in his hand. Bruce still couldn't believe that he allowed himself to fall so low. It was an embarrassment to have the world's greatest detective not realize that he himself was infected with the dust. Well, it wasn't as if he was expecting an attack from a jewel thief.

It was clever.

"Have the Titans located the person who triggered the dust?" Bruce asked.

"Dick sent out a message to me a few minutes ago. The Titans tracked down the source of the signal this morning. It was an automated trigger."

"So Deathstroke was behind this." Bruce looked back up towards the sunrise. "And he chose to target me because I'm close to Dick."

The nerve of that man-Bruce shook his head. It didn't matter anymore. This business was done. Deathstroke was dead.

Now that the dust was clear from his mind, Bruce truly thought about this. Despite all of the arguments and bitterness passed between them, Dick still thought of Bruce as his father. The kid did everything he could do to protect himself and Bruce, even when all hope seemed to be lost.

"What I said to him yesterday…it was stupid…I shouldn't have…" Bruce trailed off. "No wonder he's angry at me."

"Sir, to be perfectly frank you were infected with the dust. It made you irrational."

"I let it get to my head."

Bruce stared at the ground. As soon as everything was sorted out in Gotham City and Jump Superman came back to tell the rest of the League what happened. Batman wasn't too far off when he predicted that this was a pre-eminent attack on the Justice League.

Deathstroke's dust was meant to drive him insane until the point when he overworked himself to death. If the Justice League hadn't intervened Bruce might not have realized that he was hallucinating until it was too late. If anything, this incident caused him to rethink his attitude about fighting crime.

He thought about the video message that Alfred hid from him. The old butler was right: if he had seen that taunting message he would have gone to Jump City without a second thought. Bruce thought back to those early years when he worked with Robin. He always had to save Robin, but now the kid tried to be less of a boy hostage and more of his own man.

As he thought about last night's events more and more he realized something: he was proud of the work Dick did to keep his city safe. He was proud of the way Dick stood up to Deathstoke, how he put his own life at risk to save that of four others. Even though all of his training caught Deathstroke's attention Bruce managed to train Dick enough to protect himself. It wasn't the physical training that mattered the most: it was the sense of justice he installed in him, a commitment to making the world a better place in spite of hardships.

"When is the next flight to Jump City?"

"In twenty minutes, Master Bruce," Alfred replied, smiling, "I was wondering when you would ask."

"Well then," Bruce said, downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp, "I guess that I should be packing."

"I'll call to make sure he knows you're coming."

The clouds were rolling into Gotham City. Bruce went back inside and headed towards his bedroom. He promised Dick that he would come to Jump City. Bruce wanted to keep that promise, even if it didn't mean beating up bad guys together. As he walked down the hallway he walked past Dick's room.

He heard Alfred shuffling downstairs as he walked towards the phone. Bruce opened Dick's bedroom door with one hand and peeked inside. Bruce looked at the poster of the Flying Graysons. Why didn't Dick bring this with him when he moved to Jump City? Bruce took it down gently off of the wall and rolled it up carefully.

He smiled.

A/N: Concerning the RobStar scene: I know a bunch of you wanted a kiss…but I'm trying to stay in canon. They don't actually kiss until Trouble in Tokyo. As I was doing another read-through of previous chapters I realized that I kind of left Slade's first message in a kind of plot-hole. It isn't anything drastic, but since Starfire's little subplot is dealing with Robin's obsession with Slade I thought it would be appropriate to reveal what Robin said to Slade to make him angry in the first place. I just want to make sure that all plot lines will be tied up.

Onward, brave readers! The epilogue is posted as well, just as promised.