Be easy on Dick. He's still rattled after what happened to Jason. He's only angry because he doesn't want Timmy to end up the same way. That's why he's so… "strict," I guess.

And Tim's a teenager, so yes, he is going to have a bit of an attitude. Can you blame him?

Chapter 3: Tim

Tim hated being young. He absolutely hated it. When people looked down on him or worried about him just because he was fifteen-years-old, all he wanted to do was look them in the eyes and announce that he'd been trained by Batman for crying out loud; he could handle himself. If people couldn't see that, then that was their problem, not his.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down. He tended to get all worked up whenever he got ready for a mission, thinking of everything that usually bothered him whenever he was in the red and black suit. He was new to the team, which he could handle, but what he couldn't handle was when a good amount of his teammates treated him as if he were a novice. Just because he'd only joined their group a few months ago doesn't mean that he hasn't had any experience. Again, does "trained by Batman" mean anything to anyone?

As he finished putting his costume on, Tim fastened his utility belt around his waist, checking its compartments to be sure that he had restocked it properly. He picked up his mask, staring down at the very thing that he so wrongly believed made him who he was; his legacy. His destiny.

His life.

He didn't remember the last time that he'd spent a night at home. It was probably sometime before his father died, before all he had to look forward to after patrol was a massive, lonely mansion with a bedroom that was far too big for his liking. Sometimes he didn't know what he'd do without Alfred's occasional company.

Typing the coordinates to Mt. Justice into the Zeta tube's system, he walked forward, placing his mask on his face as a brilliant, white light engulfed his surroundings.

Seconds later…

"Robin. B20."

He walked in on Nightwing briefing the team for their missions.

"You all have your coordinates and assignments. Once your objective is complete, report back here for verification," he ordered. "That's all, and good luck." As everyone dispersed, Tim frowned. Garfield, Bart, and a few others gave him looks of pity. He and Cassie even had a silent conversation as she looked at him in a way that conveyed the message, Where were you?

Busy, he seemed to reply, shrugging his shoulders.

He's not happy, she cringed as her and the rest of the crew headed towards their assigned vehicles.

Dick was glaring at him.

Tim bit his lip as he continued walking forward, stopping a few feet in front of his irritated older brother. This was not going to be fun.

There was a moment of silence, and then, heart pounding, Tim finally spoke. "Look, Dick. I…I can expl-"

"No, Tim," he interrupted, making Tim jump. His voice was stern. "I don't want to hear it." He ran his fingers through his raven hair. "This is the fourth time in the past two weeks that you've been late and M'gann's had to catch you up to speed."

"It's really no trouble," said M'gann, who had been listening in on their conversation. She made her way back over to them. "I don't mi-"

"It's not about whether or not you 'mind,' M'gann. It's about him being irresponsible," said Dick, his voice raising.

"I'm not being irresponsible!" Tim shouted.

"Oh really? Well, what would you call it then because I sure don't know!" Dick was furious now.

"I…I've been…otherwise occupied." Tim fiddled with his fingers. Making eye contact was at the bottom of his list.

"Occupied?" Dick questioned, the smallest twinge of curiosity in his voice, though he was still incredibly mad. He crossed his arms. "Occupied with what?"

Tim rubbed the back of his neck. As much as he'd wanted to tell Dick everything, he just couldn't. If he told him what he'd really been up to, he knew that Dick wouldn't like it, would make him stop. So he lied. "I've just…had more homework than usual these past couple of weeks. That's all." He knew Dick didn't buy it. He never did because it was never true.

The taller man pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Really, Tim? You really aren't going to tell me?"

It was then that Tim realized M'gann was still standing in the room, a worried expression on her face. He tried to play it off. "Dick, I don't know what you're getting at, but-"

"What I'm getting at, Tim, is that when I tell you to be here for a mission briefing at a specific time, I expect you to be here. Not after, heck I'd even take before, but on time." He sighed. "Do you even take any of this seriously?"

Tim froze, in shock. His face turned red, eyes welling with tears. Ouch. That hurt. A lot. "I can't believe you just asked me that."

Dick must've heard the hurt in his voice because he calmed himself down a bit. "Look. All I'm asking is that you be honest with me. That's all I want."

Tim swallowed, his fists clenched, and then, out of shear rage, he said something that he would immediately regret. "Well why would you expect that? I'm only 'just a kid,' right?"

The room went silent.

Dick's face suddenly became void of any expression. It was scary seeing someone like Dick Grayson lose every ounce of emotion that was previously present on his face. "You're right," he said, "You are just a kid." Tim didn't like where this was going. "And we can't afford to have you get hurt or…or killed. That's why as soon as you've finished tonight's mission…you're off the team."

"B-…" Tim refrained. Instead of arguing, he just sat there, staring at the floor. He was too angry, too stubborn to debate or beg for forgiveness. At that moment, he was honestly just done. With everything. He couldn't stand being in the same room as him anymore.

Dick sighed. He appeared as if he couldn't believe that those words had just come out of his mouth, but he didn't take them back. "Miss Martian will explain your objective," he added, looking over at M'gann before looking back at Tim. It seemed like he was going to say something else but had decided against it, and with that, he walked out of the room.

Tim couldn't believe this, couldn't believe that this was actually happening. A feeling of nausea swept over him as he glanced up, making eye contact with M'gann, and judging by the look on her face, if there was anyone more upset about Dick's actions than him, it was her.

A few minutes later…

"Did you want to talk about it, Robin?" M'gann's eyes beamed him a look of pity as she temporarily set the Bioship on autopilot.

Tim gritted his teeth. This was exactly what he was talking about with the whole being younger thing. He tried to change the subject, talking quietly to her. "I know you heard my real name," he stated, "You don't have to keep playing dumb like that."

She shrugged, seeming a bit taken aback. "Well, I just thought that you'd prefer Robin, seeing as you've kept your identity secret for a reason, right?"

He didn't respond. How did M'gann manage to stay so optimistic all the time? Her attitude almost reminded him of Dick when they first started working together; they both projected an amount of happiness that was uplifting and annoying at the same time. Lately, however, something had changed in Dick. For the past month or so, he'd been acting rather out of character, much more solemn and contemplative than usual. It was almost as if he'd been spending too much time in a certain cave with a brooding, bat-themed mentor. 'Twas ironic, really, how Dick had stopped being Bruce's sidekick because he was afraid of growing up and turning into the Batman, but it seemed as if the further away from Bruce that he got, the more like him he became.

M'gann leaned in closer to Tim. "Would you rather I call you Tim?" She whispered.

Tim mentally slapped himself for even bringing this up right now. Turning towards her, he whispered back, "When you and I are alone, it's Tim. Anywhere else, it's Robin. Okay?" He came off as sounding a bit too cross for his taste. He really wasn't trying to be mean, honestly; he just needed to be left alone for a little while to process things.

M'gann's expression relaxed. "Okay," she answered, "But seriously though, did you want to talk about what happened back there?"

Was it wrong for him to be bothered by her concern? Man, Tim was in an awful mood. Thanks, Dick, he thought, Way to make me even more of a "team player."

Being as polite as he possibly could, he answered her. "Thanks, but no thanks," he said, giving a very small smile, "Sorry, I'm just not in the best of moods right now. Maybe later?"

"Okay," she said, his smirk bringing a grin to her face, "Whenever you need me, I'm always here." Tim nodded at her as she returned to her seat and began steering the ship once more.

He studied his other teammates.

Garfield was sitting to his left on the other side of the ship, playing with his green tail as if it was the most new and interesting thing that he'd ever seen. Why he always remained in his half human, half monkey form, Tim didn't know, but it suited him. Sure, it might've looked kind of silly at first, but when you really think about it, Garfield was lucky. His powers made him unique, made him stand out amongst others, and that was awesome.

Tim moped. Oh, what he would give to have superpowers. Without them, he always felt like that one awkward kid who gets picked last to be on someone's kickball team. Sure, there were others who didn't have powers as well, but once again, he was the youngest of that bunch and not to mention, had been doing the team thing for a shorter time than them. It was a surprise that he was even allowed to go on missions higher than Gamma status.

But if he were to have powers, things would be so different. People would look at him not as a younger team member, but as a younger team member who had special abilities to get a specific job done. Now that would be nice.

It had always been a secret desire of Tim's to be able to fly. Ever since he'd first seen Superman on television, the teen had dreamt of lifting off of the ground, soaring through the sky with nothing to catch him but the wind itself, gliding against his chest beneath him. He gave a sigh of content just thinking about it.

It was then that Tim focused his attention on Conner, who was staring off at the ocean below them. He sat at the front of the ship, having yet to say one word. Tim wondered what he was thinking about. His thoughts drifted to last night – er, earlier this morning – when M'gann had finished helping him treat his frostbite.

Pausing for a moment, he turned and looked at his reflection against the window to his right as he remembered. He sighed as he discovered his nose to still be tinted with a faint red hue.

When M'gann had left the room to go to bed, Tim got up and made his way over to the Zeta tube. Upon arriving there, he noticed that Conner was prepping Sphere. Just as he was beaming back to the Batcave, he saw him open the ground hatch of the mountain and fly away. And now, sitting here in the Bioship on their way to Star City, this was the first time Tim had seen him since.

What had he been doing? And more importantly, who had he been doing it with?...

Wait.

It was then that Tim came to a sudden realization. He cursed at himself under his breath. How could he have been so stupid? Scrunching his eyebrows, he tried to cope with the fact that Conner had actually met with the awful human being.

How did Tim know this? It was the same reason why he had been late to so many mission briefings lately. How he'd been spending all of his free time.

Investigating Lex Luthor.

Naturally.