Alternative

by Fangirl Forevz

What if Bruce Wayne wasn't able to adopt Richard Grayson as his ward, because the boy was kidnapped by Cadmus before he had the chance? When KF and Aqualad bust Superboy out, they also meet a cheerful boy who doesn't remember anything from before his time with Cadmus. Add Batman to the equation, who has been searching for Richard Grayson since his disappearance...Read on for more.

23. Chapter 23

AN: Look out everybody, there is a very long chapter up ahead! Please enjoy the missing hours of sleep I put into this part. (I'm a dork that gets really excited about my stories, and sometimes I lose sleep over it).

Seriously though... Over ten thousand words...

See you at the end!

xXx

"Welcome to Haly's Circus!" The ringmaster threw his hands into the air joyously. "Where our troupe is your oyster! And these are our latest pearls: the Daring Dangers!" High above the ring, Dick smiled cheerfully and waved to the audience before leaping off of the safety of his platform and grabbing a hold of one of the swinging bars. "Here is Dan Danger!" Dick flung himself off of the bar, flipping past M'gann as the ringmaster introduced the other four 'Dangers.' Just as they had practiced, when Dick and M'gann came back around, they soared through two barrels that Connor had thrown into the air, dazzling lights exploding around them as a result of Artemis and Roy's special arrows. "You'll never see a trapeze act as daring as this one, folks. All done without the safety of a net!"

The mentioning of the lack of net set something off deep inside Dick, and the fragment of memories that sprung forward in his mind distracted him enough to make him let go of his bar a split second too early. But one short second was more than enough to be fatal. Instead of being caught by M'gann as planned, the error he made put a couple of centimeters in between their hands, and Dick uselessly flung his hands out in a desperate attempt to be saved.

Before he knew it, he was falling…

Tendrils of fear wrapped around his heart as he fell. This wasn't like grappling through the streets of Gotham City, this was plunging through the air towards his inevitable death. As Robin, he had gadgets designed to protect him from this specific situation, but Dick was not in costume. He was only Dick Grayson now, pretending to be Dan Danger. And neither Dick nor Dan had the utility belt that Robin carried with him at all times. Being a civilian sucked.

"Robin!" M'gann's voice brought him back to his senses. He faintly caught the frightened tone the martian girl carried, but he ignored it. That was only wishful thinking. She already proved to him that she didn't care, right?

"Don't blow our cover," he ordered, even as he came dangerously close to the ground. The sounds of the audience members' screams shook him to his very core; the sound was far too familiar for his liking.

"Is saving your life okay?" Connor retorted, flinging another barrel in his direction. Dick grunted as he was met with the sudden force, but forced himself to remain steady as he was carried up to the trapeze. As Dick came closer, he shakily stood up and stretched an arm out to meet M'gann. The redheaded girl swung in his direction, and their fingertips barely brushed before the barrel began to descend. Dick's hand shook as he started to return to the ground. Was he destined to follow his parents' footsteps and fall to his death?

Apparently not, because M'gann's eyes glowed green, and he was pulled up the few centimeters between them, finally allowing his teammate to grab his hand and swing him to safety. The audience cheered below them, and part of Dick was beyond relieved that he survived, but another part of him felt unnerved by Miss M's direct disregard for his order. "What did I just say?" he asked, not too kindly. Batman's paranoia wormed its way into his conscious, and his mentor's warning ringing in his ears. Did M'gann save him because she cared, or because she wanted to spite him?

"The audience couldn't see me use my telekinesis from below." M'gann told him as they landed on a platform. The two of them turned towards the audience, putting on their best smiles as they waved at the awed spectators. Dick stole a glance at M'gann while he put up his cheerful acrobat act, and was surprised to see that the martian was putting up a facade as well. Her smile was strained, and there was a combination of longing and something that he couldn't quite place. It almost looked like guilt. "Besides, I've been using it all night. I'm not exactly the acrobat you are."

Dick looked down at the cheering audience members, suddenly feeling like he was suffocating. There was too much going on, and he felt like total garbage. His act stunk and he knew it, but these people didn't. They had no idea what a real trapeze artist looked like. "Yeah, well neither am I right now," he said tiredly. As his eyes swept over the inside of the tent, his eyes fell on the other platform across from them. For just a second, he could see the blurry image of two people wearing beautiful costumes, but his memory had too many holes for him to picture them perfectly.

"Obviously," Artemis snorted, and the couple disintegrated in front of his eyes as he was forced back into the present.

"Cut the attitude." Dick wasn't in the mood to deal with yet another confusing friend. "I caught that twenty-four hour bug that's been going around the circus." Beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face, but he resisted the urge to wipe them away. That would ruin the confident air of Dan Danger, and as people say, the show must go on.

xXx (Earlier, Mount Justice) xXx

"Advanced weapons tech has been stolen in several facilities across Europe," Robin told the Team, gesturing to the holographic map in front of him. Several cities were marked with a red dot to show everyone which places have been hit. "And each theft coincides with stops made by Haly's International Circus. Batman's sending us to catch the thieves."

Roy came closer to him, and Robin resisted his instinct to back away from him. Bruce had warned him to never let Roy touch him, and while Dick didn't understand his reasoning behind it, he knew better than to ignore Batman's orders. "This clown car have room for one more?" the archer asked almost cheerfully.

Robin made sure to keep his distance. "Uh… No, we've got this covered." He tried not to show how uncomfortable Roy's presence made him. If Batman was onto him for something, Dick didn't want to accidentally tip him off by acting weird.

Red Arrow's smile dropped, and he leaned closer to whisper in Robin's ear, "You've got the mission covered, but who's covering the three potential mole suspects you're bringing along?"

Dick fell silent, looking away. This mission was personal for him, and that's why he decided to leave Bruce and Wally out of it. Both of them would constantly smother him, and Dick needed to be able to lead without having someone questioning all of his actions. And even if Bruce wanted him to stay away from Roy, the archer's no nonsense personality would be the perfect rock to keep Robin grounded during the mission. "Fine," he finally agreed. "But you'll play by my rules."

"Of course." Roy frowned and after some thought, he grabbed Robin's hand and placed a small object in his palm. "if any of the others try something, open this box and press the button. I'll be alerted immediately, and I'll come help you as soon as I get the memo. Even if it's not a teammate that puts you in danger, it wouldn't hurt to have."

Robin looked down at the small red container, and curled his fingers around it. Never mind the fact that he could always use his communicator if he was in any immediate danger, this was a gift from someone Bruce did not trust. So, Dick wouldn't use it. "I'll keep that in mind," he said anyways, nodding at him. "Thank you."

"...Let's just hope you won't need it."

xXx (Present) xXx

After the 'Dangers' finished their performance, the group of teens retreated backstage. Dick's legs felt like jelly, his face was hot, and he was far too dizzy for it to be possible for him to be walking around. But Dick always was one to try the impossible, and this mission was too important for him to be defeated by some germ.

"Haly, what's the deal? Giving the top slot to those Danger kids?!" Dick turned his head and spotted a very familiar man speaking to a set of annoyed twins.

"That was your slot, until you missed the performance in Paris," Haly responded gruffly, trying to get past.

"Carlo was sick! He's better now!" One of them cried.

The other nodded. "Plus, those Danger kids are a sham. They say they're brothers and sisters; they don't even look alike!"

"You just don't like the competition," Haly said shortly, finally shoving past them. He only made it a couple of feet before he was stopped again, this time by a man with pure white hair. "Oh for crying out loud, not you again! We're in the middle of a show!"

"Then we'll talk after," the man said cooly. Dick glared at him; he didn't like the tone he was using with Haly. "But we will talk. Another city last week, another tech firm, another stop on your tour. If I prove you're responsible, I will shut you down."

Haly stiffened and replied in a hushed tone, far too quiet for Dick's ears to pick up. He then marched out of the curtains, shoulders squared and held high as though there wasn't a single problem in the world he couldn't handle.

Frustrated, the white haired man turned his attention to the Dangers. "Interpol. You the new act?" he asked, showing them a badge to prove his authentication.

Dick bit back a spiteful reply, forcing himself to remain calm. "Yeah, just joined the tour."

"Probably clears you." He shoved his badge back into the front of his crisp suit. "But don't get too comfortable. Haly's going down for this." Without another word he turned on his heel and left, a confident and know-it-all air to his stride. Or maybe Dick was just imagining that bit because of the way he spoke to Haly?

Either way, Dick wasn't about to let this circus down.

xXx

"If Interpol's already on this, then why are we bothering?" Superboy asked through the mind link as the Team staked out the area.

"Because Batman said so," was Robin's immediate reply. "Why? Did you have something better to do?" He asked spitefully, his hurt and anger towards the alien couple finally bubbling over.

"How do we know the thieves will hit here?" Artemis questioned after a surprised moment of silence.

"There are more obvious targets," Red Arrow said in agreement.

"Interpol already has those covered. But I've analyzed the tech already stolen and the pattern suggests this is the next target." He sighed and rubbed his temples, closing his eyes to shoo away his pounding headache.

"How are you feeling?" M'gann asked, sounding as though she was able to sense his discomfort.

A pained smile fell into place. "As if you care," he thought quietly, forcing his eyes open so that he could go back to keeping watch. "I'll manage just fine without your-"

"Contact," Superboy interrupted. "Northeast quadrant." The Team turned their attention to the indicated area, and watched as a masked man used obvious acrobatic skills to scale a fence, not pausing as he continued to run as soon as his feet were back on solid ground. "Looks like we know why Carlos missed the performance."

"Could be Carlos, could be his brother. Keep an open mind." Robin had hoped that no one in the circus was involved in the thefts. Even though all of the performers were unfamiliar to him, he knew that they were like family in Haly's eyes. But now the Team had witnessed the obvious skills of an acrobatic, and Dick's hopes were stomped into the ground. "Move in," he ordered with a silent sigh, jumping off of the rooftop.

Superboy fell behind as the rest of the Team cut through their shadowy surroundings and hugged the wall of one of the units, all searching for a sign of the thief's whereabouts. "Did you see where he went?" Dick asked the clone as he jumped down to join them.

Connor narrowed his eyes in concentration and scanned the area. After a few seconds he paused, focusing on one building in particular. "The warehouse."

"Good work." Part of Robin questioned how Superboy was able to pinpoint the thief's location so easily, but the stronger half of him was indifferent to it. As long as it helped Haly, he could care less. "Let's go."

"I don't need any help," Superboy scoffed and pushed past him, purposely bumping his shoulder as he went. Robin recoiled as pain enveloped the area he was hit; Connor pushed just hard enough to ensure that a bruise would form. The acrobat found himself staring after the clone, feeling a sharp pang in his chest. Ignoring him was one thing, physically hurting him? That was borderline bullying. No, scratch that. That was bullying.

What was going on?

"If you're going to come, then let's go," Connor snapped at them, earning a few startled blinks. Robin pushed his depression away and replaced it with an easier emotion: anger. It wasn't fair that he was constantly being pushed around by everybody. He was acting as leader for crying out loud, he deserved some sort of respect!

"Get your act together or go home," Robin said lowly, stomping past Connor so that he was in the lead again. "Try something like that again, and I'll use my handy piece of kryptonite," he warned, not bothering to try fixing the broken bridge between them. He had no time to play Mr. Nice Guy, not right now.

He had a circus to save.

xXx

When they entered the warehouse, it wasn't hard to find the thief rummaging through crates and trying to knab a piece of expensive technology. Robin cackled, effectively making the criminal stiffen and freeze in his tracks. "Caught red-handed!" he called, and the thief whipped around to face him. "And red-faced too, I bet."

"Acrobatics won't get you out of this one," Artemis warned, aiming an arrow at his head. The thief remained stoic and revealed to them the flaming sword he had in his possession, and waved it at them to produce a steady stream of fire. Robin shouted as he and his teammates dove for cover. The only one who remained put was Superboy, whose indestructible skin repelled the flames.

"Those crates are full of live ammo!" Roy suddenly shouted in warning. "Move!" he grabbed Robin by the back of his cape and began to pull him towards safety, but they only had time to dive behind Superboy before everything exploded all around them.

Everything momentarily went black, but Robin would be damned if he let himself fall unconscious. In front of him, Connor pushed away the rubble that barely managed to not crush them. "That guy is dead meat," he growled, charging away from the group.

"Superboy, no!" Robin shouted as Red Arrow helped him to his feet. "You have to get Miss Martian out!"

Superboy stopped, and spun around to glare at him. "He's getting away!"

"And that's more important than Miss M?" He asked weakly, nearly wavering under clone's death stare. But he wasn't about to back down when someone else's life was at risk. "The fire's killing her."

Just like that, the anger drained from Connor's face. He even looked confused by his own actions. "Right… Right." He returned to M'gann's side and lifted her up into his arms, not pausing once as he rushed her out of the crackling flames.

Now that that was out of the way, Robin could focus on other things. "Artemis, Arrow." He walked forward on shaky legs, his entire body protesting against it. "F-Find the thief…" his legs finally caved in, and he collapsed onto his hands and knees, completely breathless.

"Because he matters more than you?" Roy countered as he and the silent Artemis helped him up to his feet. "You're still out of your game, pal. We're getting you out too." The two archers pulled one of Robin's arms around each of their shoulders, and led him away from him fiery doom. Robin felt all of his resistance die out as soon as they touched him, and he went with them without a single protest.

xXx

"Another weapons plant is hit… and once again, the circus is in town. I don't believe in coincidences," the white haired Interpol agent told Haly, eyes cold.

Haly was absolutely furious. "I don't care what you believe, my people are not responsible! I did a bed check last night; every single member of my troupe was asleep in their bunks!"

"Well, we sure weren't," Artemis pointed out. "And if he was lying about us…"

Dick grit his teeth, but channelled his anger away from Artemis. It wasn't her fault that Haly was being framed for something he didn't do, and he wouldn't take it out on her. No matter how much he wanted to. "...Come on, let's go on the train where we can talk in private."

The Team murmured their agreements and followed him out of the tent and onto the train. Once they found an empty compartment, they had Superboy stand guard next to the door to keep an ear out for any approaching performers. "So there are two thieves, right?" Artemis asked. "The fire breather and one of the acrobats. Just in identical clothes."

"Maybe not just two. Here's the Madrid security footage." Dick held up his holo screen for everyone to see the video, which showed a masked man pulling away the metal bars blocking a window. "And Paris." He switched over to the next one, which showed a similarly dressed man balancing on telephone wires.

Roy scowled and crossed his arms. "So the strong man and the clown too… If the entire circus is involved, Haly himself might be the mastermind."

"You don't know that," Dick said defensively, fixing him with a warning glare.

"It would explain his lies," M'gann pointed out.

The frustration Dick held at bay during the entire mission finally flooded the gates. "I told you to keep an open mind!" he shouted out loud, brushing past Connor as he stormed out. How dare they blame all of this on Haly?! How could they be blind to what a kind man he was?!

Dick felt like ripping his hair out of his skull, his emotions going haywire. His mood was fluctuating at an alarming rate, and not even he could predict what he would be feeling after every minute or so. The combination of acting as leader, his friends treating him like dirt, and the messy blur of memories were all very distracting. Each one of those problems pulled his emotions around like a game of tug of war. Maybe he wasn't in the right mentality to be here right now. Perhaps he should have listened to Batman and waited until his mentor went out to investigate.

Maybe this had just been one giant mistake, coming here…

He didn't realize how far he walked until he came to a sudden halt, turning to face one of the posters hanging on the exterior of the train. Fate had it that he just so happened to come to a stop in front of this poster; The Flying Graysons poster. Immediately, all of his other problems were pushed to the far corner of his mind, and he stared at the cartoon figures sorrowfully. Even in a drawing, the outlines of his family looked perfectly graceful in their flight. Even the smallest figure, which he knew to be himself was casted in such a way that he nearly believed that the child was as good as the others.

But he knew otherwise… Dick would never live up to his parents' names. He had given up any thoughts of being a trapeze artist a long time ago, and had chosen to spend his time taking down criminals twice his size. And while he was sure that his parents would be proud of him no matter what he did, he couldn't help but feel as though he let them down somehow.

Maybe it was because he held almost no memory of them.

Just before Dick could lose himself in thought, his earpiece made a quiet beeping noise. Dick sighed and pressed the button that picked up the call. "Yes?"

"Dude, where are you?" Wally asked from the other end.

"Confidential mission from Batman," he lied, though it sounded unbelievable even to his own ears. He was too exhausted to keep up yet another act.

"Wow. You know what I'm doing? Making a bologna sandwich, kinda like how you just did." The speedster sounded slightly annoyed by Dick's feeble lie. "I talked to Tornado; you guys are not on a mission. Not an official one, anyway."

Dick forced his eyes away from his family poster, and continued his walk. "A friend, Jack Haly."

A pause. "The circus guy? He was around during your Flying Grayson days, right?"

"Yeah." He was glad that Wally knew about his past; he didn't realize it before, but he needed to talk to somebody that understood his pain. "He's caught up in an international crime scheme. Someone in the show is dirty, but I need to prove old Jack's clean or he might lose the circus."

"Then why not bring me along? I know your backstory; I know what that circus means to you." He sounded concerned for the young acrobat. "You might not have all of your memories, but even you know that's where you lost your-"

"I left you behind because you know my backstory," Dick interrupted before he could finish that sentence. "I didn't want my best pal questioning my objectivity."

"Dude… That's what a best friend is for." Dick didn't know what to say to that, so Wally spoke again, "Listen, when you get back we need to talk. Batman came by earlier and was pissed when he found out you ran off. I guess he figured out where you went… But that's besides the point. He told me to keep you away from sharp objects when you came back if he wasn't here. Was he implying what I think he was?"

Dammit. Did Bruce ever keep his mouth shut when it actually mattered? He promised him, didn't he?! "Look, I-" A human shaped shadow passed over him, and he spun around on instinct, catching a glimpse of orange and black before he blinked. After his eyes opened, there was nothing to be seen. "...I gotta go." Dick practically stabbed the disconnect button on his comm, Wally's worried protests being cut short. Blue eyes flickered around his surroundings warily, but there was no sign of the one-eyed mercenary.

Great. Now he was seeing things.

Shaking his head at his own stupidity, Dick trudged back in the direction he came from. Of course he thought he saw Deathstroke, his emotions were all over the place and his stress induced brain must have conjured up the image of his most feared enemy. That was a sign that someone needed some sleep…

xXx

After yet another performance, the troupe worked together to load their cargo onto the train, and then they all filed an board to be carried off to their next destination. The Team returned to the car they occupied before, though tension was high in the small group. "Er… You look better," Artemis told him, but then paused. A flicker of fear came over her eyes before she turned away. "Not that I care," she added on, her voice losing the warmth it held before.

"I feel better," Dick replied stiffly, avoiding the gazes of the rest of the Team.

"Yeah? Well you gave whatever you had to M'g- Dawn," Connor growled.

"That's not fair," M'gann said tiredly. "He didn't know that a martian could be vulnerable to a human virus. It's not his fault."

"Stop," He thought towards her, eyes flashing in a subtle warning. "Quit ignoring me one second then turning around and being nice the next. I'm under enough stress as it is without having to keep track of your mood swings."

"...I'll stop being nice, then," was her soft reply, but her sad tone confused him greatly. She was acting like she didn't want to be mean to him, but that made absolutely no sense. Why would she act this way if she had no desire to?

Ack. It didn't matter anyways. All that mattered right now was the circus. "When did you start feeling sick?" he asked, pretending that their mental conversation didn't happen.

"After boarding the train," She said quietly, picking at the bench she was laid across. "It came suddenly."

"Same with me the other night," Dick replied, the cogs in his head processing this information rapidly. "I remember Ray rubbed my head for good luck right before we went on." Yeah, and that had been entirely too awkward. The only person Dick let ruffle his hair like Ray did was Bruce. Dick wasn't a big fan on being touched by a stranger; he rarely engaged in hugs with his friends.

Well, his ex-friends.

Connor's head snapped up. "Ray? That roustabout? He touched her right before we boarded. Guy must be a walking petri dish."

"Yeah…" Dick rubbed his chin and activated his computer chip to check something in his databases. "Yeah, maybe." A series of information came up behind his eyes, and Dick quickly left the compartment without any form of explanation. He half ran, half stumbled over to Haly, who stood in the middle of the hall.

"Dan," he greeted cheerfully. "You look refreshed."

Dick grinned up at him. "Thanks. Uh, Jack, how long has Ray worked for you?"

Haly's friendly smile fell. "...I picked him up at the start of the European tour. Poor lad's down with the same flu as the rest of them."

"We'll check up on him," Artemis said from behind Dick. "It's the least we can do."

Haly shrugged nonchalantly. "If you insist."

M'gann left their train compartment to follow the other, but Dick stopped her. "You should rest," he told her, not able to help but be concerned over her well-being. Even if she hated for him for the rest of his life…

Dick had a feeling that no matter how much he fought against it, he would always care for her.

"...I'll manage." She avoided meeting his gaze and she followed the rest of the Team. Dick frowned and went after her, waving to Haly as he left.

When the teens entered Ray's room, it was evident that the blonde wasn't home. "Huh, I guess he wasn't that sick," Connor snarled.

Roy scanned the room for any clues, his eyes eventually landing on a lone crate. "Does this circus have an elephant I don't know about?" he asked, pointing to the label.

"Not on foreign tours…" Dick came to stand next to the redhead and helped him lift the lid of the crate off.

"Empty... No, wait." Arrow wiped his finger on the inside of the crate, and it came back covered in black dust. "Ash."

"From the warehouse and fire earlier…" Dick saw the puzzle pieces come together in front of his very eyes. He had a good idea of what was going on now, if the information on his chip could be trusted, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet.

"Uh, guys?" Everyone turned towards Artemis, who held up a familiar looking mask above her face. It looked just like… "I found Ray."

Dick narrowed his eyes. They had a suspect now, and there was no way that he would be getting away this time! "Split up! Search the whole train!" he shouted, his tone leaving no room for argument.

xXx

A few minutes later, Dick found himself on high alert as he crept through the hallway. "Mmph!" he heard nearby, and he stopped to listen. That was the unmistakable sound of someone who had been gagged, and this person was definitely not happy about it. With a determined expression, Dick barged into the room that the noise originated from, his eyes frantically moving across the dark room. It didn't take long to spot a bound Haly crouched, and Dick rushed to his aid. "Who did this to you?" he asked lowly, removing the gag.

"Ray!" the man shouted as soon as he was able, looking furious. "Ray the Roustabout! Right after we left!" Dick growled dangerously and took off, ignoring the ringmaster's cry of, "Hey, I'm not Houdini here!" as he left Haly tied up. Dick shook his head; he would be safer if he stayed where he was.

"M'gann," he tried through the mind link but it didn't seem to with their distance, which was strange. Miss Martian was able to pull off greater distances before… "Dawn," he tried again, using his communicator this time.

"Uh… Dan?"

Dick frowned. "I tried to reach you the other way…"

"Ugh. I think the flu made me too weak to use my 'other way' if we're not within a couple of feet of each other." She sounded miserable.

Oh yeah, he definitely knew what was going on. "That might complicate things," He muttered before switching links. "Dane, Dean, Diane! We're chasing someone who stole Dawn's act. Her whole shtick if you catch my drift."

"I got him!" Connor shouted. "But he's onto me. Exiting dining car now!" There was the sound of shuffling, and then wind. "He's gone topside!" Dick nodded to himself and made a break for the nearest exit. The harsh wind whipped his hair in all directions as he climbed up to the rooftop of the train. "That won't work on me, clown!" he heard Connor say as he finally pulled himself up to the top.

"That's no clown." Dick pointed at the imposter angrily. "That's Parasite, the guy who once stole Superman's powers!" Thank you, computer chip.

The fake clown chuckled. "As if you kids are who you claim to be. Please!" He threw his head back, and Dick grimaced as the man's face distorted and turned into a dark shade of purple.

"Stay out of his reach!" Robin warned Connor. "There's no flu going around. From what my databases say, the weak feeling comes from physical contact because he feeds off of the powers and abilities of others."

"I have been a bit of a glutton today. Chowed down on nearly every loser in this troupe…" The man grinned. "Oh, the absolute best was you and Dawn Danger, or whatever her real name is. I thought I would munch on her trapeze skills, but imagine my surprise when she tasted like Martian Manhunter." He then turned his gaze to Robin, eyeing him almost hungrily. "Or maybe you tasted best, with your delicious skill that gave me the ability to feel technology. It certainly made finding the part in the warehouse easier!" At this point in time, the entire Team was now present. "You both made a lovely appetizer, but guess who I want for my entree?" He thrusted his hand out towards Superboy, and used his new telekinesis ability to pull the clone into his grasp. "Mm! Now that's the kryptonian flavor I love!"

Dick curled his hands into fists. "Everyone stay whelmed!" he barked out. "Subdue, but keep your distance!" Artemis and Red aimed their arrows at the opponent, but their gear was turned to ashes when Parasite used his new heat vision.

"You know, I almost never say this... but I'm sated. Gotta run!" He then began to fly away from the group, his trunk levitating in the air behind him. As a last ditch effort, Robin jumped onto the trunk and lunged for the villain, but he was halted mid-air. "Sorry, no hitch hikers." he smirked as Robin struggled to escape from his invisible grip. "How about a taste of your own medicine, kid?"

"Behavior control activated." His chip suddenly informed him, and he barely had time to mentally scream NO before volts of electricity were suddenly coursing through his entire body.

"Mmm. You're hacking ability might come in handy." Parasite chuckled and threw him back down, using his camouflage mode to escape unseen. Robin crashed into the train at full force, but that was nothing compared to the pain of being electrocuted. He gasped and curled up on his side weakly.

"Robin!" M'gann was the first one to appear at his side. "What- how is he doing this?! What do we do?!" she reached out to touch him but recoiled when the skin to skin contact have her a shock.

"Deactivate!" Robin shouted at the top of his lungs, but his chip did not obey. Dick ground his teeth together to prevent himself from making any noise, the pain becoming too much to bare. If this didn't stop soon, he would pass out.

And after that…

Artemis and the other two teens soon joined Miss M. "He wasn't lying…" the blonde archer whispered to herself, horrified. Dick might have been curious to what she was talking about if it wasn't for the unbelievable amount of pain he was in.

"How do we stop this?!"

"Command overridden: Code DS13. Behavior control deactivated." The flow of electricity came to a sudden stop, and Robin gasped for breath.

"What the hell happened?!" Roy demanded as he sat up.

"I...I just got hacked." He blinked rapidly, banishing the black dots in his vision. He then carefully brought himself back up to his feet, ignoring Red's protests that he needed to rest. "I'll be fine. Behavior control is something I've dealt with before. I haven't died from it yet." He looked at Connor, missing the way Artemis flinched at his words. "How are you up right now? Parasite just took more power than you even have! I mean, heat vision?"

"I have the genetic potential for it. That must've been enough for him." he rose his eyebrows. "What's behavior control?"

Dick waved an impatient hand. "Electrocution when you do something wrong or disobey a direct order." There was a collective look of alarm shared between his teammates, but he brushed it off. They had time to discuss his not so fun Master later, but they had more important things on hand. He looked in the direction Parasite flew off in, sighing in self disapproval. He was so close to saving the circus…

Well, at least Parasite didn't have the ability to be able to tell when someone pick-pocketed him.

xXx

Back inside the train, Robin showed everyone the flashdrive he swiped. "Well, it's not a complete disaster. I managed to pick Parasite's pocket, and got this." He plugged the drive into his glove, which automatically went past the security protecting it and pulled all of the data up. "It looks like Parasite is working for Intergang. Everything he's stolen, they're pieces of something. They're putting together a weapon that can create…" his eyes widened in alarm. "Black holes?!"

"Oh, come on," Arrow scoffed. "To build that, you would need a Particle Accelerator."

"Like the large Boson collider in Geneva?" Robin suggested dryly.

"...The circus' next stop. But now that Parasite can fly, he has a big head start on us!" Red grumbled, seething.

"Sorry," M'gann said softly from where she was on the bench.

Robin ignored her. "This thing could wipe out entire cities." he stood. "We need to hurry."

Roy grabbed his spare gear from the luggage rack. "You and I need to hurry. You don't use your powers enough to become an inconvenient without them, and I don't have any period. Between the two of us, Parasite doesn't stand a chance."

Artemis pulled out her spare gear as well. "Hey, you're not the only one with a back up bow," she argued.

A sudden bang made all heads snap around to see Superboy pull his fist away from a newly formed hole in the wall. "My powers are back!"

"How-"

"I guess Kryptonians recover faster than humans or Martians," Superboy said in a near growl. "Still think I'm a inconvenience?" This was snarled towards Robin, who felt the sudden urge to step backwards. Superboy looked like he was ready to attack him. Robin thought the clone's behavior was just spiteful towards him before, but now it was like he was a whole different person. Connor would never hurt him… would he?

"Enough," Arrow ordered, pushing Robin behind him in a protective manner. "You can come, but only if you keep your temper under control. If you want to be mad, be mad at me, the person who actually made the comment."

"...Fine," Superboy managed to spit out.

Miss M put her hands on her hips. "Well don't you even think about leaving me behind!" She gave Artemis and Superboy a brilliant grin, and the two weakly returned it. Robin watched from behind Arrow, his insides twisting painfully. He had no idea what was going on with those three, but he knew that nothing good would come from their behavior. Someone could even get hurt if they kept it up.

And it looked like he would be that someone.

xXx

When the Team arrived at the scene, all doubts of where Parasite was died out when they found a couple of unconscious guards outside. Robin knelt down next to one of them and tilted his head to the side, finding a destroyed communications device in his ear. Looked like Parasite did find his abilities useful. "Trail of destruction leads this way," he whispered, leading them inside. Once they entered the room that held the controls for the collider, the Team crouched in the shadows to safely observe Parasite. "We need to take him down. Or, lure him away so we can disengage the-" Apparently to Superboy that meant blindly charge at the enemy, because the clone did exactly that. "No, wait!"

Parasite smirked when he saw who was rushing towards him, and used his telekinesis to lift him off of his feet and pull him closer. Once Superboy was within arms reach, he slammed his fist into the side of Parasite's face. The villain was pushed back a few feet, but he quickly retaliated and pushed Superboy off of his feet.

Red readied an arrow. "What's wrong with-"

Miss M held up a hand. "Wait," she whispered. "I have an idea." Robin, Roy, and Artemis listened to her explanation as they watched Connor be tossed around the room like a ragdoll, before being pulled right back into Parasite's grasp.

"Ohh, what a rush." He grinned at his squirming captive. "How do you do it, kid? Not even Superman recharged this fast!" Superboy went completely limp, and Parasite threw him to the side. "Alright Dangers, come on out. Only a couple of minutes until this baby's done warming up. And then it's bye bye Geneva!"

"What do you think?" M'gann asked after she told everyone her idea, biting on her bottom lip.

Red Arrow looked uncertain. "Pretty big risk to take on just a theory," he mumbled, sneaking a glance at Parasite. "I don't think-"

"Do it," Robin ordered, interrupting whatever argument Roy was going to make against the idea. They needed to end this battle now before innocent people were killed. "Go."

M'gann nodded stiffly, and left the safety of the darkness to confront Parasite. "What do you have against Geneva anyways?"

"Never liked the food," Parasite told her with his usual hungry smirk. "But the menu keeps improving!" He then used his Martian abilities to pull her towards him, like he had done to Superboy so many times.

"I'm just the appetizer, remember?" Miss M ducked in the last second to avoid being caught, then spun around to deliver a kick to his abdomen to knock him down. "Here's the main course!" An arrow shot out of the rafters and landed on Parasite's chest, a thick pink foam appearing out of thin air and nearly covering his body from head to toe.

"Foam?! You think foam can hold me!?" His eyes glowed green, and Red Arrow was lifted out of the rafters and held into the air. "Or crushing your bones with a single thought?! Combined Martian and Kryptonian powers here!" He flexed his muscles, managing to break a fair portion of his foamy prison.

Robin barely glanced over his shoulder as he continued working on the collider's controls. While Miss Martian and Arrow were fighting Parasite, that gave him the perfect opening to sneak over to the control panel and do what he does best; hack. "Do any of those powers free you before I sabotage your death thingy?" He taunted, eyes glued to the screen as he worked.

"This one does!" Robin was forced to roll away from the computer as Parasite shot at him with his new heat vision. The acrobat reminded himself to stop taunting the man; if he was pissed enough, he could take Robin down in a single move. And if Parasite focused enough to notice the piece of technology Robin had in his head, he could make it explode like he had with the guards' earpieces, and that wouldn't be pretty. Robin didn't want his brains splattered everywhere, thanks.

Artemis was forced to move out of the way as well, for she became the next target of Parasite's lasers. As she rolled out of range, she fired one last arrow at their enemy. Gas spewed out from the projectile, creating a cloud around the villain that soon bursted into flames due to the massive amounts of heat in the area. The fire made Parasite lose his invisible grip on Roy, and the archer fell to the floor with a pained grunt.

"So clever…" The villain said sarcastically. "Tricked me into igniting flammable gas. But you forgot, doofus' double dose of Kryptonian powers makes me immune! Fire... can't... touch me...?" He sounded confused by his sudden weakness, and his legs shook as he forced them to support his entire weight.

"Unless you make a meal out of my powers," Miss Martian told him smugly. "And get my weaknesses as a side dish!"

Parasite's eyes widened in realization. "No!" he cried, and his muscles caved in. He fell into a heap on the ground in the middle of the flames, falling unconscious the moment he touched the concrete.

"Aww, poor baby. Something you ate?" The Martian teased. Robin ignored them both and returned to his spot at the control panel, finishing the work he had already put into it earlier, and successfully turned the facility's power off. The collider made one last hum before falling silent, unable to continue creating the black hole it was ordered to.

"We'll take it from here," someone said behind him, and as he turned around he saw the Interpol agent from before come inside with a couple of his men, kneeling down next to Parasite to snap a metal collar around his neck. "Thanks for the tip, by the way. Definitely helps to prep the inhibitor collar in advance."

Robin smiled politely, but it held no warmth. He was biased against the man after the way he had blindly accused Haly of being the mastermind, but he reminded himself that he was just doing his job. "Happy to be of service." The man nodded and waved a hand at the other two, and the three of them began to escort Parasite out of the building.

Finally…

Robin's shoulders relaxed, and he turned to face his teammates, but then a shadow passed over him. Dick immediately spun to face where it should have originated from, which happened to be high in the shadowy rafters. Was it just a flicker of light, or did he really see a human shaped figure over there?

"There is no mole," he heard Roy say, and that's what pulled him out of his thoughts. He gave the archer a curious glance, and saw the redhead smiling at M'gann, Connor, and Artemis, and all three of them returned the warmth. Robin looked away again, breathing heavily out of his nose. If his mission had been a success, then why did he feel worse than before?

xXx

"So… the show will go on." Haly beamed at Dick radiantly, enthusiastic over the news that he would be able to keep his circus. "And I have a feeling I have you Dangers to thank."

Dick mimicked his expression. "Dunno what you mean."

Haly chuckled good naturely. "'Course not. But, I'm guessing you'll be leaving now?" he offered Dick a hand, to which he took without hesitation.

"Time to move on," he said softly, looking away to bring his emotions under control. He didn't realize it before, but he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay here, where the environment was always warm and welcoming… the place that he grew up in. He couldn't remember much from his Flying Grayson days, but the faint fuzzy feeling in the back of his head was enough for him to tell that he had a wonderful experience here. And a part of him wanted to run away from his problems and live with the circus for the rest of his life.

But the bigger part of him knew that his only place in the world was with the Justice League; with Batman. There was no where else that he belonged.

"Well, Dick… I'll certainly miss you."

It took a second for Dick to process the sound of his name, but when he did his eyes widened. "It's Dan, Dan Danger," he protested weakly.

Haly shook his head and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Son, you've grown, but some things never change. Like the sight of a Grayson on a trapeze." Dick's eyes watered. "You can't fake it, can't hide it."

Dick pulled back, almost like a startled animal. "I don't even remember those days," he murmured. "As far as I'm concerned, that part of me has been gone for a while."

Haly smiled at him warmly. "Mr. Wayne told me about your amnesia, but that doesn't bother me one bit. When I look at you, I still see the energetic boy that used to light up the room wherever he went." Dick shook his head weakly, but Haly cut through his next protest. "Sure, he may be a little lost right now, and buried under layers of hurt and sadness, but I know he's in there somewhere."

"..." Dick found himself completely speechless, and all that he could do was throw his arms around Haly in a desperate hug. The man didn't hesitate to return the hug, and the familiarity of it made Dick completely relax.

"I know you have to go Dick… But would you do an old ringmaster one last favor?"

Tears burned Dick's eyes, and he nodded shortly, not trusting his voice. How could he ever deny Haly anything when he was the only one he knew from his faded memories? And besides, he had a feeling that he knew what Haly was going to ask.

And Dick had no argument against being airborne one last time.

xXx (Later…) xXx :(

"I don't understand why you agreed to a farewell performance," Connor grumbled as the 'Daring Dangers' took one final bow for their audience before returning to backstage one final time.

"It would've looked suspicious otherwise. I mean, Parasite gets caught by a group of mysterious teenagers one night, and we leave at the same time? Anyone would be able to connect those dots." Dick shrugged. "Besides, Haly was very insistent, and I didn't see it would be a problem."

"It doesn't matter if the Dangers were connected to Parasite! They're only aliases that we used for this mission only," Roy scowled. "And besides, we have plenty of other things we could be doing other than play dress up."

Dick rubbed his temples, feeling the small thud of a headache coming on. "Whatever. Look, I need some air. We can leave once I get back." he turned around and began to stalk outside. As soon as he stepped foot out of the circus tent, the biting cold sent shivers down his spine. He wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion, but he was more than capable of dealing with it. Besides, he wanted to see the Flying Grayson poster one last time before he went back into hero mode.

The crunch of snow under his feet was the only noticeable sound as he trudged towards the train, the buzzing of thoughts in his head growing stronger as he came closer to his destination. He had felt totally free spirited when he was on the trapeze in this last performance, and he felt the ghost of his former self return to him as he flew through the air with quiet laughter. But as soon as he touched the ground again, his problems returned to him. There was no escaping reality, was there? Not unless he actually ran away with the circus…

But he wasn't a coward. Running away wouldn't sit right with the young bird.

"I think I'm due for a costume change…" he mumbled as he approached a different Grayson poster. This one had an actual picture of the acrobatic family, and all of them wore uniforms of red and yellow. Maybe Robin could incorporate those colors with his current ones, and just keep the black exterior of his cape. Oh, and he could also afford to lose the hood. It wasn't like he used it much anyways.

"I agree," A very familiar voice spoke up from behind him, and Dick stopped like a deer caught in headlights. A full three seconds passed before he was able to work past his suffocating terror and turn around. Leaning against a nearby truck, arms crossed over his chest, was Deathstroke. "I believe orange and black would suit you more."

When Dick nearly fell to his doom during the first performance, he of course felt fear, but that was nothing compared to the paralyzing terror he was now faced with. His heart raced inside of his chest, blue eyes glued to Deathstroke's form as he hoped against all hope that he was simply a hallucination, and would fade away.

There was no such luck.

"What's wrong? Surprised to see me?" He pushed himself off of the side of the truck. "I wouldn't miss my apprentice's performance for the world." He stepped forward, but Dick was frozen from fear. He willed his feet to obey his commands, but they remained where they were, unable to aid him in his desperately needed escape.

"Help-" He tried to shout, but Deathstroke was suddenly in front of him, pressing a hand against his mouth to keep him silent.

"Now, now, don't do anything stupid," the man whispered dangerously. "What if a circus member were to hear you, and came to investigative? I wouldn't want to have to kill them." Dick stumbled away from him, but Deathstroke's grip made it impossible for him to move. "Hm. If your little friends were to show up, it would cut our little talk short, wouldn't it?" he shook his head and plucked the communication device out of Robin's ear, holding it in front of the boy's face so that he could see him crush it in his hand. He then sprinkled it on the ground, and released his captive. "Now we can speak without interruption."

Robin's terror increased tenfold, and he knew he was seconds away from a full on panic attack. "Miss Martian!" he mentally shouted, desperate. "Help! It's Deathstroke!" He received no response from his teammate, and he realized with growing dread that her powers were still out of commission.

"Judging by the look on your face, I assume you tried the telepathy?" Deathstroke sounded amused, and not angry surprisingly. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't take in all of the variables before I approached you? I must say, I'm disappointed."

"... Screw you," Robin said weakly, raising his chin to look Deathstroke in the eye. All he wanted to do was panic; fall onto the ground and cry until the problem was gone, but that wouldn't do. He had to protect himself this time. "If you try to kidnap me-"

"Why would I do that if you'll come with me willingly?" Deathstroke asked, tilting his head. "That would be a complete waste of time."

Dick was taken aback by the confident tone Deathstroke used. Why did he sound like he knew something that he didn't? It was like he thought that there was absolutely no way that Dick could possibly say no to leaving with him. "I would never go with you willingly."

"Is that right?" There was a soft chuckle, and the man reached into one of his belt slots. Dick tensed, expecting some sort of weapon to be used against him, so he was quite surprised when Deathstroke simply brought out a black hard drive. "I think all of the information I hold in my hand will be enough to change your mind about that."

Robin found himself squinting at the small device. What could he possibly have on there that could make him switch sides? "Yeah, right." He snorted, some of his confidence slowly returning to him. If he just treated Deathstroke like any other villain, then maybe he could make himself forget all of the things the man did to him. "I would never-"

"Wallace West."

Blue eyes widened under his circus mask. "What did you just say?"

Deathstroke continued speaking as though he didn't hear him, "Wallace West, Megan Morse, Connor Kent, Artemis Crock… I know the names of every sidekick you've ever befriended." He sounded pleased with himself. "And using this information, I was able to deduce quite a few of the Justice League's identities, such as Barry Allen, and Clark Kent." Dick took a shaky step backwards, but Deathstroke grabbed his shoulder in a tight grip. The boy gasped in pain, but the mercenary did nothing to lessen it. In fact, Robin swore he could feel him tighten his grip. "A lot of the Leaguers' identities were intriguing, but no one surprised me more than Bruce Wayne." Dick froze as that name was spoken, the silent cry of no echoing in his head. Not Bruce... anyone but Bruce. "Who would've guessed that the famous Batman was just a billionaire crying about his dead parents?"

At those words, the shock of the situation instantly wore off, replaced by rage. "Don't talk about him like that!" he snarled, wrenching himself free from the man's death grip. "Bruce is twice the man you'll ever be!"

The assassin's good mood dispersed. "Watch your tone with me, Renegade," He said in a warning tone, sending shivers down his spine. Robin immediately obeyed and snapped his mouth shut, the months of punishments for disobedience now fresh in his mind. He felt disgusted by himself for falling under that habit again, but he was too frightened to do anything but listen. "Good…" the way he spoke sounded like he was awarding a dog, and a flare of anger made Robin ball his hands into fists. "Now then, the information I have here would be greatly appreciated by my fellow criminals, and I'm sure I would have more money than your pathetic mentor if I were to sell it."

"...How do you even know about them?" Dick asked quietly.

"Who did you think you were downloading information for?" Deathstroke asked in a condescending tone.

Robin gasped, mouth falling open. "T-That was my mission? To collect information on the Justice League for you?!" he couldn't believe it, even though he had been suspicious that he was the mole for a while now. But hearing it being said out loud...

A harsh slap to his face made his entire head snap to the side, and the stinging sensation on the cheek that was hit made his eyes burn. "Don't be an idiot," Deathstroke hissed, sounding unconcerned for the pain he brought the boy. "If that was your mission, do you think I would keep this information to myself? No, your purpose was something much more important."

Dick couldn't resist the temptation to rub his stinging face, shaken to the core that he had just been slapped. Being punched by an enemy was one thing, but being hit like that by someone who used to train him was another. Bruce would never do that to him, ever. This was only a reminder that life as Deathstroke's apprentice would be nothing but painful. And now that he was being blackmailed into going with him, he couldn't help but feel even more scared. What would Deathstroke do to him?

Robin squeezed his eyes shut, shoving his hands into his coat pockets and lowering his head. Damn it, what could he do- Wait.

His fingers brushed against a small cube in his pocket, and he fought to keep his face stoic. Roy's box. He could contact Red Arrow!

"Now, we don't have all day. I have work to do, and I believe a punishment for attitude is in order." He released the boy's shoulder, and took one step back. "Let's go."

Dick slowly opened the small container, and jammed his thumb into the button. Immediately, Deathstroke stiffened and roughly grabbed him by the arm. "What did you do?!" Dick didn't reply beyond the pained gasp he let out, and Deathstroke angrily reached into his pocket and yanked the small box out of his grasp. When he pulled it out and saw what it was, he was beyond furious. "You… ungrateful…" All Robin saw was a blur of black before something collided with his nose, and the force of impact was enough to knock him off of his feet. Warm blood pooled out of his likely broken nose, but he was unable to think much of it after a steel toed boot was rammed into his ribcage.

"Deathstroke, stop!" he gasped, curling into a tight ball as another kick was aimed at his chest.

The assassin growled at him lowly, and knelt down to scoop him up by his throat, and held him high in the air. Dick clawed at the hand as his windpipe was unable to carry oxygen to his lungs, and his legs kicked out uselessly below him. Deathstroke brought him closer to himself, fury written in his one eye. "You are only delaying the inevitable. This time, I'll let you get away, but next time… a stunt like this will ensure that I reveal all of your loved ones' identities."

"ROBIN!" Came the sound of several frantic voices, and the crunching noise of footsteps came closer to the area Deathstroke and Robin occupied. "Let him go!"

Dick's vision started to blur, for he was still being denied the precious air he needed. Deathstroke finally released his grip on him, and he fell to the ground in a heap. "Say your goodbyes while you can, Renegade," he said lowly.

The Team was suddenly in between the two of them, each of their bodies stiff as they stared Deathstroke down. "Stay the hell away from him," Roy snarled, raising his fists in a threatening manner. But, as it was, he didn't have his bow and arrows on him, and that brought him to a disadvantage.

"Guys…" Robin managed to choke out, his throat aching.

"Oh god, your neck!" Artemis spun around and knelt down at his side, gently touching his bruised neck. Robin weakly hissed at the contact, screwing his eyes shut.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, archer. We wouldn't want poor 'Robin' to get hurt, would we?" Deathstroke asked mockingly, and Artemis immediately retreated. "Be seeing you, Renegade. Please pass along my greeting to your mentor…" Dick's eyes opened again just in time to witness a smoke pellet drop to the ground, and a cloud of grey covered the area. When it cleared, Deathstroke was no where to he found.

"Bastard." Roy spun around and crouched next to Robin, eyeing him warily. "He's gone. You're safe now."

"..." Dick simply closed his eyes again, ignoring the trail of blood that dripped into his mouth. God, he was tired. While his wounds were extremely painful, he was more mentally tired than he was physically. Every word, every punch, every kick Deathstroke dealt against him, it only ripped apart the careful walls Dick put up to protect himself from any emotional pain. But now those walls were gone, and he felt…

Broken.

xXx (Some time later...) xXx

Batman was beyond furious when the Team filed into the Mountain, his unconscious protege safely tucked away in Roy's arms. No, he wasn't mad at the Team, even though they went on an unofficial mission. That could easily be blamed on Dick himself; they probably had no idea that they were never actually given orders to save the circus. Bruce wasn't even angry with Robin, even though the teen had disobeyed a direct order.

No, Batman was furious with one person alone; Deathstroke.

According to the Team, Robin went outside for some air after their final performance, showing signs of a developing headache. About twenty minutes later, Roy received his distress signal and the Team rushed to their teammate's aid, only to find the acrobat trapped in Deathstroke's death grip around his throat. After that, the villain easily escaped, and Robin fell unconscious.

And now, Robin was laying on a medical table in medbay, his nose now back in place, gauze wrapped around his torso, and eye grabbing finger-shaped bruises on his neck. Batman watched the rise and fall of the teen's chest for a while, mentally reminding himself how close he was to losing this child. If the Team arrived a minute later, or if Roy didn't think to give him the device he did, who knows what state Dick would be in now. Would he even be alive? Was Deathstroke's goal to kill him?

"Maestru…" Dick mumbled, eyes flickering behind closed lids.

Bruce swallowed hard; Dick only ever spoke his native tongue when he was completely out of it like he was now, but the word he had used shook him. Deathstroke was haunting him even when he was asleep. "El nu este aici," he said softly. "Esti in siguranta."

"Bine, Tati…" He went still again, and Bruce continued to stand vigil at his side. When Dick was fully awake and aware of his surroundings, they would have to talk about what happened out there for sure. But for now, Batman had to stay as close as he could to the injured teen, or he might do something drastic.

Like break his no kill rule.

xXx

AN: Here are some translations...

Maestru: Master

El nu este aici: He is not here

Esti in siguranta: You are safe

Bine, Tati: Okay, Dad…

(Feel free to correct me if these translations are wrong.)

Thank you all for your reviews from last chapter. See you next time! :D