Adeline Kane

Overview

Born from a well off family, Adeline joined the US Army at a young age and quickly grew in the ranks. With marriage and motherhood, Adeline resigned from the military as her husband provided for their family. Together, they had two sons. After a bitter divorce, Adeline began her own Private Security Company that is currently expanding into the world of Private Intelligence. 

Despite her resignation from the Army, she is still a highly capable and formidable combatant. When Project Firewall comes under attack, Bruce Wayne hires Adeline and her company's forces to guard Wayne Tower and its outlying facilities from both technical, viral, and physical attacks. However, Adeline's involvement with the case may in fact be a crucial turning point to revealing Deathstroke's true intentions. 

Adaptation

Adeline, as she was never shown in the TV Show, retains much of her comic book counter part's qualities from the early 1980's comics. In "Custody" she works as the head of a private security company, in a sense, just a step away from what would be her private enterprise in the comics as a private intelligence agency. Additionally, though a bit younger and a bit less hardened then she was in the comics, Adeline retains her history with Deathstroke. 

The biggest difference is that Adeline from the point of the beginning of the story has never once interacted with the Titans, who are based on the West coast of the United States while she has primarily operated on the East. Though aware of Slade's antics, she has been content to not get involved as long as they have not threatened her family. All of that comes under threat however in "Custody", forcing Adeline out of avoiding the man that ruined her life into confronting him full head on.

Personality and Relationships

Adeline was a "army brat", growing up in a variety of different locations through out her childhood and teenage life. Following in the footsteps of her father, Adeline also joined the army and quickly became renowned as a top soldier. This led her to teaching many new recruits, including her future husband. During her military career, Adeline took no excuses, no nonsense, and no cowardliness. Fearless, brave, and determined, Adeline trusted her gut instincts, which led to many of her victories in battle and training. 

After her bitter divorce, much of Adeline's confidence in her instincts became a stitched up mess, filled with self doubt and double guessing of herself. While confident in tactical matters, when it comes to dealing with other people, Adeline falters when it comes to trusting people and what she believes to be their motives. With many of her own regrets surrounding her family, particularly her sons' lives, Adeline has a particularly strong maternal instinct, though she doesn't always trust herself to fill  a 'mother' role. 

She is one of the few people with whom Deathstroke shows respect to, albeit in his own twisted sense. While their past is murky to say the least, they do seem to be familiar with one another, much to Adeline's dismay. His nickname to her ,"Addie", can trigger flashes of anger in her. Another man in her life, Bruce Wayne, though distant, relies on her with a variety of important matters regarding his company. While she is unaware of his true identity, their companies' partnership has served for the benefit of both enterprises ever since the establishment of Adeline's agency. However, the true nature of how they came to meet is unknown.

Personal Thoughts

Adeline was one of my favorite characters from the comics while growing up. I loved her strong willed nature and ability to stand on even ground with Deathstroke. While I know why she never appeared in the TV Show, I still think it would have been way cool to see her in some way show up. But hey, at least we got Jericho though. 

I tried to write Adeline from a bit of a younger perspective as I felt that the TV show dealt with a younger Slade as well. So here, she's experienced, but still learning a bit and not quite as hardened of a character yet.  In any case, Adeline ends up playing a key role in "Custody" and her character is one of the primary reasons why I was able to come up with the storyline. I won't spoil much, but let's just say that little coincidences in canon material allowed for this to come about.

Also, just btw, I'm still waiting to find a Deathstroke and Adeline Kane cosplaying duo. That would provide so much win. Just saying. ;)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Vignettes

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Vignettes

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos... Azarath Metrion Zinthos... Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."

Raven had been chanting for the last hour is seemed, but the passage of time didn't affect her. She kept her head covered with her cloak as she levitated in a lotus position. Her room was covered in a mist of shadows while a few candles glowed in her presence. The heater turned on and she looked up, her incantation interrupted. She had to admit it was cold, but even still, it bugged her. Standing up from her position, she covered the candles' rims with her gloved hands and blew them out. Opening the door from her room, she was surprised to see the Tower's hallways almost as dimly lit as her own room.

It was odd to say the least, but with the current circumstances, she couldn't blame anyone for not turning on the lights. Walking down the hall, the empath suddenly sensed another's presence. She glanced over to the nearby door which read 'STARFIRE'. She sighed. The alien of the team seemed to be the one the most affected by all of this. The Tower being shut off and... well, Robin's absence.

"Starfire?" She called, knocking on the door, "You in there?"

Of course she was, but that didn't mean that she would answer, "Come on, Starfire. Can you open up?"

Nothing. Raven folded her arms. She had to come out some time other than when she was to go on duty... "Starfire, I know you're in there."

Silence followed and Raven knocked again. She wished that she wasn't so bad at this sort of thing, "Look, I know you're upset, but... Can't you at least come out?"

In that instant, Starfire opened the door, but she wasn't looking at her friend. It took her a minute until she finally brought her eyes up to see her, "I'm sorry, friend Raven. I was... distracted."

"Oh..." Raven said, trailing off, "Well, that's, that's okay... Are you alright?"

Starfire looked down and then nodded, "I will be fine..."

An awkward air of silence followed. Raven shuffled her feet a bit as Starfire tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Well, I hope you can excuse me, friend," Starfire finally said, "I, um, I need to take a shower."

She walked past Raven to the bathroom. Raven watched her go, wondering if Starfire really had intended on taking a shower or if she was just trying to avoid her. She shook her head and walked in the opposite direction to the front room and found Cyborg, where he always was, at the central computer board of the Tower. Working. The poor guy, he was only getting about four hours of sleep a day at this rate. Generally, he stayed plugged into the charger all day, but his human body still needed the natural rest that came from sleeping. So four hours was what he got.

The rest of them got about eight. Each taking two four-hour shifts for guarding the exterior of the Tower, which was still down from the massive reboot that Cyborg was conducting. She sighed and made herself some herbal tea. As she poured the steaming tea into her mug, she blew on it and walked over to Cyborg, who was hunched over at the screen. She glanced over the screen, most of which didn't make much sense to her.

"How are you doing?" She asked.

Cyborg sighed and sat back, cracking his neck, "Well, it's mostly a lot of security codes that I have to get through and reset. And then to check if the system's reloaded, I plug in all of the passwords and if it stops... well, then I missed something."

"And that's what's stopping you now, isn't?" Raven said, smirking lightly.

Cyborg nodded, "Man, when I get my hands on this hacker... You know, it's one thing to hack in the Tower. I can deal with that, but hacking into my system files at the same time..."

Raven watched as Cyborg slouched over again, "They don't know who they're messing with."

She looked down at her tea and stirred it with her spoon. She was glad that after all of this, Cyborg wasn't too shaken by it. The fact that he was still mad about someone hacking into him, well, that was a positive sign. After everything, with Gotham and the thefts and now this, she was surprised that they were not more rattled. Then again, she had been trying to... calm people's worries down. Not that she told the others. In any case, she felt sorry for whatever poor sap had committed this crime.

"Any idea who did it?" Raven asked.

"Whoever it was, their server wasn't within Jump City limits. But with all the by-passes it had to go through, I'd say that it was still in a pretty densely populated area," Cyborg explained.

"That narrows it down," She remarked sarcastically.

Cyborg rolled his eyes, "I'm working on narrowing down the possibilities at the moment. Right now, I've got that they were in the United States."

"Again, that helps," Raven said, not seeing how useful that really was at this point.

Cyborg shrugged, "There's only so many cities... Hey look Raven, I need to work on getting this done. Do you think...?"

Raven smiled slightly, "Don't worry, I'm gone. Just get this Tower up and running, alright?"

Cyborg smiled, but he was too tired to really be enthusiastic, "Thanks, Rae."

She nodded and left the room. As the door closed behind her, she thought to herself, 'Now what?' She didn't really want to be a bother to anyone and she could always go back to meditating... She walked back towards her room when she felt a draft. So that's why her room's heating unit had turned on. She walked up towards the roof's door to shut it, but upon reaching it, she glanced through the crack to see Beast Boy sitting out in the cold. It never got too cold in Jump City, but it was still pretty chilly. She looked down and then up again. The door creaked open and she walked out. Beast Boy turned to look at her.

"Oh, hey Rae," He said, "What are you doing up here?"

She shrugged and let her cloak fall around her shoulders, "Nothing really... aren't you cold?"

Beast Boy raised his eyes at first and then laughed, "Only a little. If I ever get too cold, I just shape-shift."

He changed into a tiny kitten and then a large dog before finally changing back into a human being. Raven put up a small smile, though she wasn't entirely convinced. She walked over to Beast Boy and sat down next to him.

"I'm surprised you can still make jokes," She admitted, "After everything..."

"Hey, you know that's all I'm good for," Beast Boy told her.

She sighed, "You don't give yourself enough credit."

"Oh, yeah, I'm good for being a guard dog," Beast Boy, shifting into a greyhound and back, "Forgot that one."

Raven rolled her eyes and looked out at the city's landscape, "So how do you keep yourself busy up here?"

Beast Boy shrugged, "I don't know, mostly I bug Cyborg on a walkie. You?"

"Meditate," Raven said simply.

"Should have known," Beast Boy said, leaning back, "You doing alright?"

Raven suppressed a laugh, "I suppose. I'm more worried about Star and Cy though, considering Cy's lack of sleep and Star's... state. How are you doing?"

Beast Boy shrugged, "Alright, I guess. I just wish there was more that I could do other than be a guard dog."

Raven smiled, "You're not alone in that. I can tell that Starfire's been... dying to get out of here, I'd say. She's worried."

Beast Boy nodded and there was silence for a moment before he realized something, "Wait, have you been going into our minds lately?"

The empath looked up at him panicked, "What?"

"You heard me, you've been messing with our heads!" Beast Boy accused.

"No!" Raven yelled back, "I didn't..."

"Rae," Beast Boy said, casting the shadow of doubt on her word.

"Well, what would you have done?" Raven said standing up, her cloak blowing in the wind, "Star might leave and Cyborg's so... frustrated right now. And..."

"And what?" Beast Boy said.

Raven glared out of the corner of her eyes before answering, "Robin's gone. We're barely holding it together and if the Titans don't..."

Beast Boy eyed her, "What? What happens if we don't keep it together?"

Raven held her arms, "Something bad's coming, Beast Boy. I can feel it. It's like those feelings I had in Gotham, but they're worse. They get worse everyday..."

Beast Boy stood up and walked over to her. He wasn't quite sure what to say or do. His caution was evident and she noticed.

"I guess all I'm trying to say... is what would you do?" Raven asked, turning to him.

"I, I didn't know, I'm sorry," Beast Boy said.

She looked him in the eye, surprised by his answer. He shuffled his feet at the silence, "I, uh, I haven't been doing anything to worry you, have I?"

To her own surprise, Raven found the question a bit ironic. She debated as to whether or not she should answer, "Um, I don't know... You just haven't been very happy lately. That's all I know..."

Beast Boy laughed, "Well, no one has. No surprise there. Just wish I could do more, like I said earlier."

"You like feeling useful," Raven stated simply.

"To save a life or be the comic relief," Beast Boy shrugged, trying to be cute, "And I think it's working on you."

Raven shook her head. He was so predictable sometimes. They walked back to the edge of the roof and stared out at the city, which was now past dusk. It was quiet for a while, except for the few seagulls calling out overhead. Beast Boy sighed and stretched.

"You know what's fun?" He asked, glancing at her.

"No," Raven said, "What?"

"This."

Raven felt her stomach drop as she saw Beast Boy lean over and begin to fall off the side of Titans Tower. He waved as he fell farther and faster away from her. Raven leaned over the edge watching. She had regained her first feelings of panic as she remembered that he could fly, but that was quickly escaping her as he plummeted faster and faster towards the ground.

'Oh come on, change already,' She thought.

He was feet away from the ground when she lost it and held out her hand, which glowed of telepathic energy, "Beast Boy!"

And then he was gone.

She jumped off the roof panicked and flew downwards to the ground. She searched around frantically, finding no sign of him. Where had he... what had he...?

"Boo!" He yelled and she nearly screamed as he changed back from being a fly and held onto her neck to keep himself from falling to the ground.

"Oh!" From the corner of the eye, she glared at him, "You..."

She elbowed him in the gut and he fell to the ground, despite the injury, laughing, "You should have seen your face!"

She stood in the air, her arms crossed at him, "It wasn't funny."

"Oh come on," He said, "You knew I'd be alright."

Raven glanced at him. He was smiling and resisting the urge to laugh. For a while, she did nothing, not giving him one reaction even as he got up to look for some. Finally, she landed on the ground and gave him a final glare.

"Oh, you're useful alright," She said sarcastically, "Useful for giving people heart attacks."

Beast Boy laughed, "That and migraines!"

"That too," Raven said, but before their conversation could go any further, one of the walkies they were using in place of their communicators turned on.

"Titans! Get up here to the meeting room! The Tower's back online!" Cyborg called to them.

They looked at each other and instantly flew up to the top of the Tower. Once Raven reached the window, she flew threw it to reach the meeting room faster. As Beast Boy got to the top of the Tower, he changed back from the hawk and ran to the door.

"That's just cheating!" He called down.

Upon reaching the main hall to the meeting room, he ran into Starfire and they came in at the same time.

"Is it true?" Starfire asked, as they got to the front of the room, "Is the Tower back online?"

Cyborg nodded at her after looking over her appearance, namely her wet hair, "Uh, yeah, Tower's back up and our communicators should be working again."

"Sweet!" Beast Boy yelled, pulling his out, "Yes! My Tetris game is still on!"

Cyborg looked at him and shook his head, "Yeah, because that's so important. Listen, as we get back to a regular sleep schedule, now that I've got more resources, I can get closer to finding our little hacker."

"Hey,  my high scores are missing!" Beast Boy exclaimed, clearly not paying as much attention as he should to the current situation.

"Friend Cyborg, wait, does that mean that we will be able to reach friend Robin?" Starfire asked.

"I guess so," Cyborg said, shrugging, "Let's see... if we have any messages..."

Starfire held her hands together, waiting as Cyborg searched up the communicators' files, "Hm... looks like we had one call, but Robin didn't leave a message. Guess he got cut off or something..."

"Do you think we could reach him now?" Starfire asked urgently.

"Uh, I don't know, maybe..." Cyborg trailed off, typing into the computer.

Instantly, the communicator was open in Star's hand and she frantically typed in the code to reach Robin. She let it ring a couple times before she heard the answering machine. She closed it slowly. Raven looked over at her, sympathetically.

"He probably just can't answer right now, Starfire," She said.

"You are..." She started, but paused slightly, "You are probably right."

They waited in silence for a moment before Cyborg finally ended the short and brief meeting, "Alright, y'all. I'm gonna go knock out a couple hours of sleep. But afterwords, you leave it to me. That hacker is mine."

Beast Boy almost laughed, "Don't let me stop you, dude."

Besides, they were all tired and without even really thinking, they dispersed themselves through out the Tower.

-T-

"How confident are you feeling right now, Robin?"

Robin narrowed his eyes, "I'm sure if I answer that I am, you'll downplay that immediately."

Slade chuckled, "True, though you are not, are you?"

"Oh no, I'm totally going to play into your hands and say I am," Robin said as they walked down the hall.

Slade decided not to mention the irony in that last statement as they kept walking. After a moment of silence, Robin finally continued, "So what is it today, anyway?"

He had been stuck in his room for most of the past four days, except for meals and the occasional trip to the bathroom. Yeah, Slade had been extremely hospitable. He'd visit once a day, mostly in Robin's opinion to get a daily dose of talking down to him. But today, Robin had gotten the pleasure of getting to come out for a new reason. The new reason though, was still a mystery to him.

"Something I think you'll like," Slade said, opening the doors at the end of the hallway to reveal a large room.

It was mostly clear save for a few pieces of furniture, such as an old couch, a few matching chairs, and a fireplace that didn't look like it had been used in ages. But despite these few pieces of furniture, the room was mostly empty except for a cabinet at the side that Slade was currently opening. The floor was bare and made of well polished wood. All in all the whole place was perfect for...

"Catch," Slade said, tossing Robin a Bo-staff.

He caught it in his hand and looked at it for a moment before smirking, "We're sparring?"

"Still confident?" Slade asked, amused.

Robin shrugged as he tested out the staff, "I think I could enjoy this."

He yelled and ran forward with the Bo-staff, but Slade sidestepped it and grabbed Robin's wrists, halting him in his attack. Robin stared up into Slade's masked face, furious.

"You still planning on enjoying this?" Slade asked, twisting Robin around and throwing him and the staff to the ground.

However, Robin regained his footing and twisted around to face his opponent. Stubbornly, he failed to answer and ran forward, yelling. Slade readied himself as Robin approached. But when he moved to block a frontal attack, Robin moved to the side. He was going to make it, land a hit... So when he felt a kick to his back that he wasn't expecting, he tumbled across the floor until he hit the green couch. Slade moved over, pleased, but Robin wasn't about to stop there. Not after just one shot. He sprinted to his feet and grabbed the fallen Bo-staff in the process. Heading straight for Slade, he looked above Slade's head, though the corner of his eye kept Slade right in his line of sight.

Robin made a move that looked like he'd jump up to hit Slade from above, but before it could be fully executed, he stopped himself and aimed straight at Slade's chest, hoping to catch him off guard. To his surprise again, Slade had seen the move coming with ease and used Robin's own momentum against him, tossing him to the left towards the fireplace. The Boy Wonder yelled as he hit the stone feature of the room.

"Tired yet?" Slade asked.

Robin wiped his mouth and glared up at Slade, angry. He looked around the room, looking for anything that could give him an advantage. None presented itself... Only the Bo-staff... His feet made contact with the floor again and he stood to face Slade. Slade eyed him, watching him closely, when Robin began to run forward once again. He was ready for Robin's next actions. Another frontal assault, when Robin slid past him to the right, finding the Bo-staff in his left hand again. He slid till he found his footing again and then ran towards the couch. Jumping on top of it, he thrust himself at the window before throwing the Bo-staff with all of his strength towards his one escape.

At the moment of contact, there wasn't a single shard and Robin followed the Bo-staff in clattering to the ground in a heap. Slade chuckled and Robin looked up at him. Slade had known that it wouldn't have worked all along. That's why he hadn't bothered to try and stop him...

"It's not going to be that easy, Robin," He said simply, looking down at the boy.

Robin growled and ran at Slade, infuriated, but Slade got a hold of Robin's arms and restrained him, "Get off me!"

"I'm intrigued," Slade told him, "You fight though you know that you can't get out."

"Yes I can!" Robin yelled as he struggled against Slade's grasp, eventually freeing himself and stepping a good few feet back from his enemy.

Slade chuckled, "Really?"

And that's when Robin knew he was in trouble, turning around, it felt like he had only mere seconds before Slade landed a well planned kick to his legs and caught him in a choke hold. Robin squirmed and fought, but it was like being a fish caught on a hook. He kicked and desperately attempted to free himself, but Slade wasn't about to let Robin out of this that quickly.

"It seems to me, your possible escape routes are few in number..."

Outside in the hall, Adeline walked from her room to the front. Her intention was to go read. It was one of the few things that she could do that would get her mind off of her current predicament. Watching TV never felt productive and outside of that and reading there wasn't much to do other than help Wintergreen in the kitchen and around the estate, something Adeline wasn't about to do for the life in her, unless Wintergreen was being overworked, of course. And the one good thing about this place was that Slade's library had to be the most diverse private library she had ever seen. Today it was a book about Alaska. She wished she was in Alaska, a thousand miles away from hi...

"Slade!"

She turned her head up ahead and ran ahead. That was Dick. She knew it was and at that instant, she suddenly felt panicked. At the point where the corridor parted, she took a right instead of a left and ran down to the last door, every moment being able to hear better.

"Don't be foolish, Robin," She heard.

"You're crazy!"

"Or merely using statistics..." She could hear the amusement in Slade's voice now.

She slammed the doors open and found Robin in a headlock, with Slade keeping hold of some of the teen's hair with the other hand. Her mouth dropped and without hesitation, Adeline's hands became fists.

"Slade! Release him! Now!" She yelled.

Slade looked at her as though tired, "Adeline, I'm a little busy right now..."

"What on earth are you doing?" Adeline asked, walking over to him and grabbing the arm that he had around Robin's throat, "Dick, are you okay?"

"Well..." Robin managed to choke out.

"Slade, let go!" She yelled.

"I repeat, I'm little busy," Slade said.

Adeline looked at him, shocked and infuriated, "You let him go or I will make you."

"You're cute when you're angry," He said, and she knew he was smiling under the mask.

"Are my fists cute, Slade?" She asked in response.

Slade considered his options. He knew he could stop both Adeline and Robin easily, but he really didn't want to fight Adeline and it would be simpler to just talk it out with her. He dropped Robin to the ground and Adeline tensed. Robin shook his head and attempted to smile up at her as though he was okay. As though. Slade knew that he was probably feeling a kink in his neck. Slade stepped forward to Adeline and looked behind his shoulder at Robin.

"Practice. Make yourself more of a challenge," Slade told him.

Robin frowned and Adeline glared at him, before he led her outside of the room and closed the door. He leaned against the wall, his arms folded as she walked out, a hand to her chin in thought. There were so many things wrong with this... She turned to see him and he watched her with interest.

"I don't really know where to begin," Adeline said.

Slade shrugged it off and offered an explanation, "Adeline, Robin and I have been fighting for years and that's nothing compared to what..."

"Nothing?" She asked, walking up to him, "Slade, you've got a sixteen year old boy in a choke hold!"

"I learned it from you," He said simply.

"Yeah, well I wish I had never taught you," Adeline answered, turning away, "I mean, what if that was one of... what if that was Gr...?"

"I've left them out of this, Adeline," Slade interrupted.

Her face took on a sour contortion, "No, you haven't. You won't tell me where Grant is and that's why I'm stuck here."

"But they're not in any way going to get harmed," Slade told her.

"But Dick is!" She yelled, "I didn't teach you this to let you..."

But then an idea hit her and she smiled, "I bet I could still deck you."

Slade raised a brow beneath the mask, the conversation having changed course, "Really?"

"Really," Adeline said, turning to face him and walking up to him.

"What are you getting at, Adeline?" Slade asked, they were mere inches away from each other.

"I fight you," She said, "We spar, once a day. If you win or if it's a draw by an hour's time, the original agreement stands. If I win, you tell me where Grant is and his situation and you let Dick leave."

Slade mulled it over in his head, making Adeline impatient, "Well?"

"You know, that blouse looks great on you," Slade's velvet voice teased.

"Answer the question," Adeline insisted.

"Technically, it wasn't a question," Slade told her.

"Slade," She warned.

Slade chuckled and finally answered, "Alright, you've got yourself a deal, starting tomorrow. But I'm afraid that you really must excuse me, Addie, I've got to get back to work."

Adeline swallowed hard, hating the thought of letting Slade keep doing this, but at the same time, she knew that once Slade set his mind to something, there wasn't anything that was going to stop him. And he had made a promise, gave his word. She knew how much he honored his word. Too much... in fact, in her mind. Slade opened the door and disappeared from view. Adeline stood there for a moment before it hit her.

"Don't call me Addie!" She yelled through the door.

She wasn't sure if he heard her and the silence angered her. She began walking down the hall, picking up the book that she had dropped on the way to the door, her heals clicking as she walked. Adeline then looked at the blouse she was wearing and made a mental note to change and burn the blouse later. Inside the sparring room however, Robin's worries were back and already becoming realities.

"You annoy everyone don't you?" Robin asked, twirling the Bo-staff.

Slade smiled under the mask, "I suppose that's another thing we have in common."

Robin leapt forward, aiming the Bo-staff at Slade's face, though Slade side-stepped it. Slade aimed a kick at Robin's legs, but Robin managed to knock it out of the way with the staff. However he was far from out of the fire. This time they didn't get interrupted and the fight lasted a good twenty minutes. Robin spun around, despite feeling a dizzy spell coming on. But Slade saw it and advanced quickly, causing Robin to trip over his own feet and fall to the ground. Before he could get up, Slade had done it for him, grabbing his wrist and arm.

"You can't escape from here, Robin," He said in the boy's here.

"Don't tell me what I can't do!" Robin yelled.

Slade glared at Robin and dragged the teen to the window. Robin looked outside and saw that it had begun to snow and it was falling rapidly. The overcast sky had darkened the woods to the point that it felt like it was night time outside. He heard the winds blowing against the windows as they hit the house. He saw the trees surrounding the house being rocked as their roots held them to the ground. The leaves flew past them as they were whipped from their hold on the branches. He involuntarily shivered.

"Do you see any lights?" Slade asked.

Robin didn't answer, but there were none to see and Slade continued, "You don't know where you are or where anything else around us is, so I'll tell you. We're in the middle of the woods. There is nothing around for miles. Gotham is over two hours away driving by car at the speed limit. And this house is designed as a fortress."

The Boy Wonder watched the scene revolving around outside, his chances of survival and escape dimmed with every moment, "No one is coming for you. No one even knows to come for you. You're on your own if you want to break out."

"So feel free to try and escape," Slade continued, "But know this: I know these woods, Robin, far better than you do. It would be a fruitless effort on your part. I suggest you reassess your options."

Slade let go of Robin, who stood rooted to the spot. He walked over to the Bo-staff and picked it up. Robin didn't move or bother to notice. Slade smiled. At least that had been drilled into the boy's head. Suddenly, Slade saw Robin's hands ball up, becoming tight and tense. He turned and yelled as he attacked. Slade smiled. Time for a lesson.

"Don't let anger drive you, Robin," He said, sidestepping the attack.

Robin spun around, not even acknowledging what Slade had said. He didn't care that he was angry. He just needed to release it and even if it meant that he'd be beaten by Slade. Slade had been controlling his life, whether he had realized it or not, for the past three months. Every bad thing that had happened to him was Slade's fault and now he was stuck dealing with him in this miserable estate. And what annoyed him most of all, for some reason, the only reason the man had done all of this was because Slade was intrigued by something about him.

He wondered if he annoyed himself in that way... Yes, the immense responsibility and sacrifices of being a hero could be somewhat agitating. But it was all worth it... Robin lashed out to punch Slade in the face when Slade grabbed his fist and snapped it back. Robin gasped and Slade looked at him.

"You just want a fight today," Slade told him, "That's obvious."

He tossed Robin to the ground, "But I assure you, you won't want what's coming. I'd suggest surrendering now."

Robin rubbed the side of his face where he had been elbowed, said nothing, and kept on the sour pout. Slade sighed. He was confusing him, that was for sure, but at least Robin realized his situation. That, Slade was happy about.

"Get up," Slade said, "You need to get changed for dinner."

Robin looked to the ground. Fine. Whatever. He didn't care. But he wasn't going to surrender. He couldn't. He stood up and walked over to the door, waiting for Slade to open it and lead him back to his room. Slade's masked face was expressionless as he unlocked the door and strode out, the boy following.

-T-

Inside of the apartment, Selina rubbed her arms as she watched the snow fall outside. She stretched and looked over as one of her cats purred. With graceful steps, she slid over and pet the feline's head.

"Yes, yes, I know puddin'," She said, "Just be glad you're not out there."

She walked into the kitchen, putting a few dishes away. She shut the cabinet just as the door of the apartment opened. She looked over to see her friend walking in with the groceries.

"Man! It's cold outside! Those weathermen never get it right," Holly muttered, "I mean, where in the report today was there any sign of snow?"

Selina laughed, "At least the heater is worker this year."

"Oh, don't remind me! Last year was like being up at Santa's workshop!" Holly answered.

Holly Robinson and Selina Kyle had been long time friends, who together had slowly worked their way out of poverty. It was a lasting friendship and Holly was perhaps the only one who knew that Selina Kyle was Catwoman. Well, despite Batman and Robin. Selina sighed and proceeded to wash a few dirty dishes before stacking them into the dishwasher.

"What's up with you?" Holly asked, bringing the food in to put it away, "You've been awfully quiet lately... By the way, I love your eyeliner today."

Selina looked over at Holly with a small smile, "Thanks... I'm just a little worried."

"Why?" Holly asked, opening up a few cans of cat food, "Arkham's getting pretty full last you heard, right?"

"Yeah, but it's been full for a while now," Selina said, trailing off.

"Is it because of Bruce?" Holly asked, her eye raising, "You've been awfully depressed since then, come to think of it."

Selina's lips firmed a straight line, "He was a good man, Holly. One of the few... I just hope Batman and Robin find his killer soon. I want him behind bars."

"Why don't you find him then?" Holly asked.

Selina sighed, "I wouldn't know where to start..."

"Help! Please! Someone!" Selina and Holly heard from outside. A woman.

Selina lept into action. She zipped up the rest of her suit over the thin tank top, as she already had the pants on ready to go, and pulled the goggled mask over her eyes. She pushed the window open and grabbed the whip, attaching it to her belt. As she fell out of the window, Holly ran over and looked around.

"Oh yeah! Thanks for leaving the window open!" She yelled, rolling her eyes as she shut it.

A cat meowed next to her and she stared at it before asking, "What are you looking at?"

The cat tilted its head to the side and Holly shook her head as she went to unload the rest of the food. Outside, Catwoman landed on the ground with ease and ran down the street in the direction of the cry. They couldn't be a block away... Then she saw them and she kept herself to the side. She wasn't about to run in headlong without knowing what she was up against.

"Please, please, don't!" The woman yelled, as the three men around her cornered her to a wall.

"We just want your money, pretty lady," One of them said, "I'm sure you have more."

One grabbed her wrist and she yelled, "Stop! Get off! Please!"

"Shut up lady," The second said.

"Unless you want to just hand over it over without a, OW!" He yelled.

The whip snapped back, breaking the sound barrier and the three men looked over to see the figure in the shadows approaching them.

"I don't like men like you," Catwoman purred.

They all looked at each other and began to back away from her as she continued, "I'd suggest you'd let go of her before things get ugly."

The first one swallowed hard, but he didn't want to look like a wus, so he did nothing and instead puffed up his chest and answered for his pals incorrectly, "We ain't afraid of you, Cat."

The others started to laugh with the first after a minute or so. Catwoman's eyes narrowed, "Alright tough guys, if that's the way you want it...Ha!"

The first one fell to the ground, knocked unconscious as she ran ahead at the other two. She tangled the third in her whip and tossed him to the side into a trash can, after which he immediately fled. As she took care of him, the second one had come up behind her, ready to fight. Selina smiled. She kicked him squarely in the jaw, sending him straight to the ground before landing her boot on his stomach, causing him to cough and choke loudly. Selina jumped off of him and wiped her hands as though to clean them. She walked over to where the first one had fallen and picked up the woman's purse.

"Here," She said, "You shouldn't be walking alone at this time of night."

"I, thank you. I know," She said, "I had to work late tonight."

"Just be more careful next time," Catwoman said, before she heard the second begin to groan again, "Excuse me one second. Ha!"

She gave him a good solid kick to the head, knocking him out. The woman jumped back, startled. Catwoman turned back to her, smiling.

"Nothing like a little girl power, huh?" She joked.

The woman nodded quickly and Selina walked over to her, "Listen, why don't you call yourself a cab and get home that way? Alright?"

The woman nodded again and quickly fumbled around her purse for her cell phone. She dialed the numbers and as soon as she got a hold of one of the receivers, Catwoman could tell that she was beginning to calm down. Catwoman waited with her until the cab came, despite the cold. They leaned against a building near a streetlight. The woman, in the light, Catwoman on the outside.

"I can't thank you enough," The woman said again.

"It's no problem," Catwoman answered, "I just don't like men like that."

"Well, still, thank you," She said.

Catwoman shrugged. The woman twiddled her thumbs for a minute before speaking, "You know, when I was running, I was praying that the Batman might show up. Funny how people hope something scary will save them something else."

Catwoman tilted her head down at the next question, "Did you see him?"

She turned her head away, "No. Not lately."

"Oh... Sorry..." The woman said.

Headlights came into view and Catwoman saw the taxi sign above them. She quickly darted into the alley and watched as the woman got into the safety of the taxi. She sighed as the snow fell around her. Well that was simple enough. But it left her once again in her brooding mood. She began walking back to the apartment, coiling up the whip again. She jumped to a fire escape when out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move. Selina eyed the shadowed alley way. She shrugged before going off again.

She stopped. Catwoman turned around again. Her eyes narrowed and she jumped down from the fire escape, intent on finding out what was following her. About fifteen minutes later, back at the apartment, Holly had finished putting the groceries away and feeding the cats and was now sitting on the couch curling up as she watched the O.C. Suddenly, the cats started to purr and meow loudly. Holly looked up and at the window that the cats were focusing on. It was beginning to jiggle and Holly immediately realized it was Selina. She ran over and opened the window.

"Selina, what was...?" She stared, but Catwoman darted past her to her room, "What are you doing?"

She instantly pulled out a small back pack and began grabbing items, ranging from her Catwoman gear to her cosmetics. She grabbed a few changes of clothes and a few personal items. Holly watched as Selina pulled back her hood to get a quick breather.

"Selina, what are you...?"

"Listen, you're right. I need a break. I can't stand just staying here and thinking about him," Selina said.

"I... I didn't say that," Holly stuttered.

"I need a break, Holly," Selina said, zipping up the backpack and slinging it over her shoulders and walking towards the window.

"Selina wait!" She called, "Are you leaving?"

"I'll be back soon, don't worry," Selina said, opening the window as a gust of wind came in.

Holly shivered. She looked at Selina as she pulled on the hood again. She was sort of surprised at Selina's change in attitude. But Selina still seemed like her determined self.

"Oh... Okay. Just take care of yourself, Selina," She said quietly.

Selina smiled at her, "I will. You do the same. Will you take care of the cats?"

Holly shrugged, "Well, I guess... I mean, what else am I going to do with my time?"

Selina laughed, "Thanks."

She jumped out once again and out of sight. Holly looked out, searching for the Cat, but finding nothing. She sighed and slammed the window shut. Rolling her eyes, she walked over and sat down on the couch again. Whatever that was about, she was sure that Selina would tell her later on. She clicked on the TV again and was pleasantly surprised to find that she hadn't missed much of her soap after all. She sat back, a blanket on her lap, and began eating popcorn as outside, the snow clung to the dark city of Gotham.

Chapter Sixteen: All Hallow's Eve

Interlude: October 31st

Chapter Sixteen: All Hallow's Eve

"Evening, Mademoiselle," Alfred said, opening the door for her.

"Evening... um..." Kory started, uncertainly

"Kory, this is Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred, this is Kory Anders," Dick introduced them.

"It is my pleasure," Alfred said and Kory could hear the older man's refined British tone.

As Alfred drove off with the two teens in the back, someone in the hotel called the local paper. This would fit perfectly under the gossip column. "Dick Grayson dates visiting Princess". Turning out to be just like Wayne, probably, but who knew? Didn't care how the papers saw that, but at least the boy looked like his head was still on his shoulders. Wish they could remember what this Kory was the princess of, though...

The drive was slow in the traffic so Dick prodded his mind for topics, but Kory was the first to break the silence, "So... Dick, you have really been..."

"Yeah, kinda," Dick laughed, "Couldn't tell you guys before 'cause of Bruce."

She nodded, "Is, um, is Mr. Wayne... him?"

Dick nodded back with a warm smile, "Well, kind of, guess I can't keep that from you anymore either, can I? But, yeah, he's not my dad, though. When I was about nine or eight I guess, I, well..."

Dick added a laugh into the mix to dull the pain, "I was um, in a circus. Haly's Circus. And my parents and I were, uh, high-wire and trapeze artists. One day, though, my parents were killed by performing by a guy named Anthony Zucco..."

Kory sucked in a breath quietly as Dick continued, "He put acid on their performance wires and they always performed without a net. So they, yeah, they died. But Bruce, he was in the crowd that night and in short, I went to live with him and he taught me how to be Robin."

There was a pause for a moment, in which Dick couldn't make heads or tales of what Kory thought, "Kory?"

"Hm? Oh, I am sorry. I just, I did not expect that, but it does make the sense now," Kory told him, hoping this had not been too painful to bring up.

Then again, Dick didn't seem like in bothered him much. Maybe at one point it really had bothered him. Or maybe he was just putting it all lightly and that way he could ignore any pain that came with it. To think though, it was almost incredible, that their leader had been born out of such a tragedy and still be so positive. And from what she had seen, he was so much so the opposite in tone in comparison to the Batman... Mr. Wayne.

She looked up at him, "Dick, does... Does Mr. Wayne mind that you have, well, told me about him?"

Dick thought for a moment and decided to ignore his actual honest answer, "Don't worry about that. He's doesn't even know about this date; he has some meeting that he has to go to. And besides, he should trust me on things like this."

At least that last part was true. Kory nodded when the car began to pull over and they both looked up. Outside was a elegant restaurant in Midtown Gotham, one that Dick had often heard Bruce talk about: The Constellation. Alfred came around and opened up the limo's door where Dick got out and helped Kory out as well.

Dinner was excellent. Their conversations were lively and yet relaxed. The best thing was that it was private. Dick told her about growing up with Bruce while she would tell him stories about Tamaran. They shared inside jokes and those little embarrassing moments that they hadn't told anyone else about before. They ate casually, catching glances of each other's eyes and then quickly looking away, embarrassed. Dick chose the safe choices, the pastas, while Kory dared to try the oriental originals, such as spark cooked squid and eel, making Dick gape at her as she ate it greedily. And all the while, they would catch glances of the other looking at them with a glint of spark in their eyes and a smile on the corner of their lips. Then the other would blush and they'd continue on with their dinner. Their dessert was their filler, a chocolate-peanut butter cheesecake.

Kory wiped her lips with one of the soft napkins while Dick paid for the dinner and tipped the waiter. Dick looked down at their hands and gently touched her fingers as they went for the door. Feeling his fingers, Kory smiled and finished the action by lacing them together. It had been quiet up till then. He expected to meet Alfred outside, but instead, a throng of flashes met his eyes. Star held onto his arm tightly as people pushed recorders into their faces and blinded them with their cameras, surprising her. The press, great. Just Great! Dick hadn't expected this, but come to think of it, he should have.

"Grayson! Grayson! A photo!"

"Princess! Give us a..."

"Care to comment...!"

"Just one photo!"

"Who is she?!"

"How long have you been dating?!"

Dick looked over and between flashes he saw an alleyway to their right, "Come on."

Using a bit more than what one would call average strength, Dick and Kory forced their way through the crowd and ran for it. Dick held her hand and led her to the alleyway as the crowd of paparazzi attempted to follow them. They turned the corner and he nodded upward. When the camera men and writers got to the alleyway, they found it empty. Some rushed ahead, believing a woman really couldn't be that fast in heels while others left defeated. Above them, Kory hovered in the air, Dick holding onto her. Once the paparazzi were gone, he laughed, to Kory's surprise.

She landed on a nearby roof. Her hair was almost straight now and he was getting out a mask to put on as she asked him, "Dick... does your... connection to Mr. Wayne make you the celebrity?"

Dick looked at her in surprise, "Well, sort of, I guess. Never thought of it that way. But that's the first time they did that. Guess it's 'cause I'm getting older now."

Kory nodded and commented, "He is the Knight and you, the Squire?"

Dick was taken back a bit, but told her, "Yeah, I guess. Hope that's okay with you."

Kory giggled, "I would want a Squire over a Knight any day. The Knights as some would say are 'way too dull'."

Dick smiled and went up to her, "I'm glad, Princess."

Kory smiled, "Shall we continue as Kory and Dick or..."

"Let's show off a little," Dick said, putting on the black mask.

He loosened his shirt and jacket while she waited. Once he was ready, she walked over to him and he put his arm over her shoulder and she her arm under his. Flying up into the air, Robin felt the breeze softly hit his face. For about an hour, he directed her over Gotham, showing her the areas he had called home since he was a kid. As they approached the uptown island of Gotham, Dick noticed a small carnival nearby, no doubt for the Halloween festivities. Funny, it didn't feel like Halloween to him. He directed Starfire to land near a man with some colorful cones. Robin told Starfire to wait and ran over to the man, handed him something and went back to Starfire.

"Why is it that we have landed here?" She asked.

"Just watch Star, you'll like this," Robin told her.

Suddenly, a whirl of sound seemed to shoot out of the air and a loud blast rocketed through the skies, followed by a blast of color. Starfire gasped, "The fireworks of your world!"

"Yeah, thought you'd like 'em," Robin told her.

Starfire looked at him, "Robin, do you want to see them?"

"Huh?"

Starfire held out her hand and Robin finally got what she was asking. He looked at her quizzically, "You're not going to kill me for a horrible date, are you?"

Starfire shook her head. Robin smiled. They both kicked off their shoes and got ready for another flight. Robin took her hand and felt himself being lifted into the air once again that night, straight for the fireworks. The blasts were incredible (and loud), but between them, he could hear the bands playing below. He looked up at Starfire who's eyes were dancing with the lights. She brought him gracefully up to her eye level. Then again, she was always graceful. The rockets fired away, but Starfire kept it so that they were never hit, sometimes dodging at the last moment to give Robin something to laugh at after the narrow miss. For a moment, the rockets had a pause and Starfire looked over to see Robin looking at the ground.

"Robin, what is wrong?" She asked.

"I... I just wish I could be the one flying," He said, smiling off-handily, "I wanted to carry you."

Starfire smiled sweetly at him, "Robin, in more ways than the one, you already have."

Robin looked up at her. Wow. He looked harder. She... She was so beautiful. So lovely. So perfect. So patient. So cute. So loving and considerate and kind and passionate and joyful. He felt his heart racing. It was at this moment that he realized how close they were. Him depending on her for the moment to keep him up in the air. She being steadfast and steady for him. More than anything, he wanted to stay with her. Right now. Forever. Right then, all he could see was her. He held onto her, their hands and arms locked together. Their faces, inches if not centimeters away from the others'. Their eyes never wavered. Were they even breathing? Were they alive? Were they in heaven? He didn't know.

"Starfire?"

"Yes?"

Robin felt his heart aching and Starfire felt her own racing. Somehow, they both knew how the other felt. So right. So wonderful. So out of this world. So... so... was there even a word for it? Starfire looked into his masked eyes. How amazing, dazzling... enchanting... they... were... She felt her heart stop for a moment as everything slowed. Robin inched towards her and she reciprocated the action. She was so angelic and he was so protective. He was so incredible and she was so loyal. They didn't want to let go. This had to be what people sought after in life. This had to... They were so close to feeling the other's lips on their own...

Beep. Beep. Beep.

They pulled apart as Robin blushed and picked his cell phone from his pocket to open it for a text, 'Master Dick, if you could land... Master Bruce...'

Robin looked down to see Alfred and the limo parked below. A loud boom sounded behind them and the last firework erupted. Blushing awkwardly again, Robin nodded towards the ground and they landed and put on their shoes. They were very quiet, but they held one another's hand as they walked toward the car where Robin had told Alfred to meet them. Before walking over, Starfire put her hair in a bun and Robin took off the mask. Alfred smiled as he saw the tired couple walking towards them. He opened the car door and Kory got in, but before Dick could follow, Alfred held Dick back for a moment.

"You're presence is requested by Master Bruce," The butler told him

Dick's eyes shot up, "Huh?"

"Do not ask me why," Alfred told him.

"Well, just... now?" Dick asked.

"I believe so," Alfred answered, "I would not have called you down if I did not believe that he was serious about it."

Dick thought for a moment and sighed, "Well, just drop me off at Wayne Tower. That's where he is, right?"

"Indeed," Alfred answered.

"You'd give Kory a ride back to the hotel, right?"

Alfred answered, "You would think I that wouldn't?"

Dick smiled at the butler and got into the car. As they took off, Dick sat next to Kory and she rested her head on his shoulder. She didn't ask why they had to end it; she was content and happy none the less by just being with him. And despite Dick's sense of foreboding, he still felt a huge amount of joy in his bones.

"Sorry 'bout this, Star," He told her.

"It is quite alright, Robin," She told him.

"Thank you, for tonight," He said.

"I thank you too," She replied.

Wayne Tower came into their presence all too soon. As Dick stepped out, he looked back at Kory one more time. She was so beautiful, inside and out, and all that. Way better looking than any other girl. 'Cause she was his star. His star. Wow. He felt a shiver run down his back.

"Bye, Star," He said in a whisper.

"Farewell, Robin," She answered, her emerald eyes sparkling.

He smiled at her. Carefully, Dick shut the car door and watched as Alfred drove off. Dick felt his heart swell. Wow... So this is what it felt like to be love sick? He'd gladly be that any day. Running up the steps, taking them two at a time, Dick approached the near deserted Wayne Tower. Wow. Just, wow. How cool was that? He'd just gone out on the best date of his life. Wow!

He passed the front entrance with ease. Dick was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he nearly bumped into a brown haired woman who seemed to be in charge of security and was angrily talking to two men. If it hadn't been for his inside knowledge and frequent visits he would have never made it up to the top floor of the Tower. Dick walked up to the silver, diamond encrusted elevators. The ride went fairly quick, but Dick didn't notice. When the doors opened to the empty waiting area and he stepped out, the biggest, most stupid grin remained on his face right up until he opened the modern stained glass doors to Bruce's office and saw Bruce leaning against the front of his desk, arms crossed and a perturbed look on his face.

That's when the grin left.

Dick felt himself tense up. He looked down at the ground while his posture automatically shifted into a soldier stance and waited for whatever lecture that was coming. Because, of course, there was always a lecture. A senseless lecture. A pointless lecture. A reprimanding lecture. A 'don't get yourself killed' lecture. A 'you messed up' lecture. Which one would it be this time? Which ever one it was, Dick knew he wasn't going to like it. Bruce stood up straight, bringing himself to his full height and making Dick feel all that smaller. He walked to the side of his desk, but neglected any sigh of regret.

"Where were you tonight?"

Dick felt his chest tighten as he answered, "You know where I was."

"Where were you tonight?" Bruce asked again, anger this time lacing his tone.

The man wasn't in the mood, but then again, Dick wasn't either. He was actually suddenly angry, "I was on a date! What? That actually matters to you?"

"I thought I told you to be out on patrol early tonight," Bruce demanded, "It's near twelve and you still haven't even put on a suit."

"Then what's this tux?" Dick spat, smart-mouthing him.

Bruce finally turned to him with a sneer, "Don't play dumb with me, Dick. You know very well what happens in this town on Halloween. Men die on the streets. Woman go missing. Children get kidnapped. Barbara once got kidnapped and she was only one of the lucky ones."

"Then why are you lecturing me and not out there right now yourself?" Dick yelled, snapping his head up at Bruce.

"Watch your tone," Bruce scolded.

Their eyes locked furiously, neither looking anywhere else, as though it was a battle of will power. Dick couldn't believe this guy. Honestly, what had he done? He was a teenager. Most teenagers were partying tonight. He was having an innocent date. Bruce on the other hand, wouldn't take this kind of irritable costly behavior. Not telling him that he wouldn't be out. He would have tried to get out sooner and who knows what could have happened thus far tonight to some unsuspecting civilian. Irresponsible. Irrational. Tonight, people mattered. That didn't give anyone in this room leeway. A date could have been any night but tonight. Dick kept his eyes on Bruce and then he noticed a change in Bruce's look.

Finally, Bruce sighed and walked back around his desk, "Who did you go with?"

"Kory Anders," Dick answered surprised; it was a fair enough question.

"Who?" Bruce asked, unaware of Dick telling him about anyone by name.

"Starfire," Dick clarified.

Bruce's eyes went momentarily wide, then returned to their normal state only more alert and actually, maybe a bit thinner, "Starfire? Your team member?"

"Yes," Dick answered again.

Bruce looked at him in shock, dumbfounded. The man looked off to the side. Dick didn't know where this was going. He watched as Bruce put a hand to his face and his expression scrunched up in thought. Somehow, Dick didn't like this.

And when Bruce finally repeated the name, it was in no way that Dick wanted to hear, "Kory Anders? Kory Anders!?"

Dick stepped back defensively, "What?"

Bruce walked to the front again and threw out his arm in frustration, "Do you... please do not tell me that you did what I think you did..."

Dick opened his mouth, barely able to get the words out thanks to Bruce's reaction, but then a rage from deep inside him erupted and he dared to step forward again, "You mean tell her I was Dick Grayson? The poor kid that Bruce Wayne felt sorry for? Yeah! I told her. Kind of hard to go out on a date with her otherwise, don't you think?"

Bruce's wrath flared, "Oh my..."

But he paused, as though unable to finish his sentence. Dick watched as Bruce looked from side to side as though trying to look at anything but him. The man's expression was now frustrated and he was deep in thought. All this in one night. Bruce didn't want to have to deal with it. But their identities...

He turned towards his desk and brought a hand to his face again, "Dick, what have you done?"

What had he done? No. No way was this... No!

"I've told my best friend who I am! I don't see where that's a problem!" Dick screamed, demanding attention to the fact that he was human; perhaps Bruce didn't like that.

"And in doing so, you realize that you've just compromised half of the Justice League's identities, not to mention, my own?" Bruce asked lividly, "You realize that, Dick!?"

"She's not going to kill anyone!" Dick yelled.

"She's an alien," Bruce pointed out, "She's not from Earth and her galaxy shows little signs of weakness. They've been warring each other for nearly a century. How do you know that she hasn't just been playing you all along?"

Dick looked at Bruce in disbelief, but answered firmly, "Because I know her and I know what it's like to be betrayed and I know she'd never do that!"

"Don't start that, Dick," Bruce said, trying to avoid the subject of Dick's departure when in reality, Dick was referencing Terra's betrayal of the Titans.

"Fine, but how come I'm not allowed to date and have a friend that's an alien when you're friends with Superman, the most powerful alien of them all? Xenophobic about him too, Bruce?" Dick accused.

"Kryptonite is an easy tool to disable him," Bruce answered coldly.

"Mr. Wayne, Ms. Kyle was hoping that you were in and able to attend a party..."

"Not Now!" Bruce yelled and turned off the connection from receptionist at the front entrance.

On the bottom level below, Selina tapped her foot while on the roof, someone found the windows to Bruce's office just like the map had said.

"Nice, Bruce, really. What about Selina, Bruce? Huh? What about the fact that you're dating a wanted thief? What's that about? I think Superhero Alien is a much better taste in women," Dick added sarcastically.

"Do you even..."

There were so many other people at the moment living other lives. Everywhere else, people continued on with their lives. Across town in the boys' room, Cyborg hit Red X over the head with the remote. In Metropolis, Clark filed some final papers, having to work late with Lois and Jimmy that night. Oliver Queen was laughing at the morons whose butts he was kicking while being the Robin Hood of Star City. Commissioner Gordon relaxed in his office, waiting for midnight so that he could leave. Princess Diana sparred with a fellow Amazon for training. Starfire entered her room, love-struck while Raven attempted to sleep with all of the noise coming from the other room. But the fight in Wayne Tower raged and would soon effect everyone.

"No! Do you even know what I've been through! I've paid attention to your stupid rules! I've tried to be cold and heartless! And I don't want to be! I like being able to love someone!"

"And you realize that if it weren't for your team, you could have gotten shot the other day. Your concern for that alien nearly cost you your life."

The figure on the roof got ready: this would be cake.

"Oh, so we're incapable, is that it!?"

"Actually, considering their performance and interference the past couple days, I'd guess that Ethan could still be alive if it weren't for them!"

"Oh, so that's why you're so bitter about Ethan's death to me? It's my fault?! Sorry for my team helping then!"

"They shouldn't be here; they create too many additional factors," Bruce countered.

"Is that what the Clark and Diana do to you Bruce? Create more 'additional factors'?" Dick threw back, his hands clenched tight into fists.

"They're adults and can handle themselves," Bruce told him, "Your team is learning. You're no where near the level of the JLA."

Dick sneered, "Thanks a lot Bruce. Really, I'm glad that I'm no where near your level of coldness!"

Ravager loaded the gun and hooked up the tanks to his back.

"This argument is over, Dick," Bruce said, about to go around to his desk, when Dick continued.

"No! I'm so sick of you putting me down all the time! I'm sick of you treating me like a little kid! I'm capable of more than just creating those old catchy lines, Bruce! That's why I left! 'Cause I could handle myself and you would never listen to me about that!"

"Handle yourself?" Bruce asked, "How can you say that when you nearly got shot?"

"I'm always nearly getting shot! It's part of the job description; but I don't see how my well being even interests you anyway!" Dick told him.

That got him, "You don't think your well being concerns me?"

There was no one left in the world that he was even remotely concerned with at the moment. Not the JLA. Not the Teen Titans. Not the JSA or the Outsiders. No one. Not a single soul. Just his ward. There was silence, eerily so and Dick sensed that Bruce was about to let it all out on him.

"You think I don't care about you?"

Dick didn't move as he glared at Bruce, who slowly walked towards him from the wooden desk. He couldn't wait to hear this.

"You think I don't care, when every hour before we go out, I am planning the safest possible routes to keep you safe? When I'm training you, being sure that you're ready to go out so that maniacs like Two-Face will never beat you again? When I'd lay down my own life if you would be alive and healthy?"

Dick wouldn't back down. Why? He didn't believe it. Bruce took the easy way, not the safest. He trained him looking for perfection, which he clearly was not. He'd hold his incapability's over his head for the rest of his life and Dick had let him. Ravager smiled.

"You think I don't care about your well being?" Bruce whispered and looked down at Dick.

"No."

"And why would that be?" Bruce asked, leaning in and challenging the statement.

"How about 'you'd take everything I ever had away'?" Dick asked, finding a silent road blocker.

Bruce returned to his natural stance, silent, unreadable.

"See, you don't care and you sure don't act like it," Dick told him.

There wasn't another chance for Bruce to respond when the windows shattered and a man laughed, a blowtorch in one hand and a gun in the other, lighting the sides of the building on fire. A couple bullets were shot. The man's red and brown suit blazed as he laughed from under his mask as the alarm system sounded.

"BRUCE WAYNE! Bwhahaha," The intruder yelled, "Meet your doom!"

At one point in time, Dick might have laughed at the statement. Not today though. Both he and Bruce got into a position in which they could fight back if they had to, only with the palms of their hands up and facing this maniac. They had to keep him calm as they weren't exactly the Dynamic Duo from the front page of paper at the moment. Once at least one of them got their chance to leave, they'd strike.

"Who are you?" Bruce said steadily.

"Who am I? Who am I?" The man asked, indignantly, "Name's 'The Ravager' and trust me, I can cause just as much havoc as my name implies."

He was a talker. He could be talked down... possibly. Just not as Wayne and Grayson, that's all.

"What do you want?" Wayne asked as Dick looked between Bruce and Ravager, tense and ready to do something if needed.

"Simple, I take joy in spilling blood, so what does that mean?" Ravager lied, yet at the same time, it was quite entertaining for him.

Dick eyed Ravager's equipment. A blowtorch. A gun. He had been killing all of those people. This was their guy! And he was just a random killer? Bruce noticed the similarities, too. They couldn't let him get away.

"Ravager, there's no point in killing me," Bruce reasoned.

Ravager laughed, "Of course there is, you realize the bounty that's on your head? I was already in the neighborhood, thought, why not? Now how shall it be?"

Bruce raised a brow, hoping to stall as Ravager continued, "I could burn ya alive or I could shoot ya, strangle ya, beat the livin' daylights out of ya."

"You can't think that I'm going to go along with this," Bruce asked calmly.

Ravager was taken aback by this and then his eyes caught Dick. Walking over, he let the blowtorch fall to the side and grabbed Dick by the shirt, bringing the gun up to the boy's head, "Maybe I'll just blow the kid's brains out instead, then you'd have blood on your hands."

Dick didn't struggle, but he held his breath and tried not to think about the hot barrel that was being pushed against his skull. He hated having to pretend like he couldn't do anything. He held onto Ravager's arm, hoping that the man would let go, but he wouldn't. There wasn't a chance of that. Bruce's startled expression got Ravager's attention.

"Don't you dare harm him," Bruce seethed.

"Oh, why not? What you going to do?" Ravager taunted.

Bruce stood still and tensed.

"I've never killed anyone so young, but I wouldn't mind givin' it a try," Ravager said continuing, looking down at Dick, who had beads of sweat forming on his face. From somewhere, Dick heard liquid move and swish around.

"You don't want him, Ravager. You came here to get me. Not him. Please, let him go," Bruce asked, calmly but tensely all the same.

Ravager chuckled and threw Dick to the ground to the right. Dick quickly got up. Again, if he were younger, he would have snapped something witty at the murderer, but he wasn't ten. He was sixteen. This guy worried him. He tried to fight off the fresh memory of the barrel's feeling. Dick then noticed that the fire's smoke began to drift outside as the fire slowly spread around the edges of the room.

"So, then, tell me, what does the famous Bruce Wayne want his final words to be?" Ravager threw at him.

Bruce held his fists, "You're not going to get away with this, Ravager."

Dick finally added to the conversation trying to keep Ravager talking, "You're a coward with a gun!"

Ravager then turned, actually interested in Dick, "You think a coward could carry a gun, kid?"

He pointed the gun at Dick again between his eyes, but Bruce redirected his attention, "You're forgetting me, Ravager. I'm over here; is your eyesight really that bad?"

Infuriated, he turned to Wayne, and Ravager yelled at the insult, "You know what? When I'm done with you, I'm gonna burn down this Tower and let it look like the end of the world had swallowed it up and spit it back out. This place will be nothing but a pile of rubble with your sad excuse of a corpse at the top of the pile."

Slade watched the scene from a spy camera. The three vigilantes all facing each other. He wasn't pleased so far. His dear half-brother could get so easily distracted. Perhaps the man needed a little reminder of what he was here to do.

"Ravager, you don't have to do this. I could pay you triple the bounty. Just put the gun down and let's talk. I can write you a check right now. I wouldn't even try to trace it. Just leave Dick and I alone," Bruce offered.

They had to get out, now. This was taking way too long. Ravager looked intrigued, but something sounded in his ear. Bruce and Dick watched tensely, not knowing why the man had stopped mid-interest.

"Your brother will get there first, upping you. How humiliating."

Ravager's eyes flared with anger, "No, you know what?"

Bruce and Dick kept their hands up still, not to startle the man who was obviously enraged, but that was the last thing they should have done.

"This is taking way too long!" Ravager announced and pulled his gun out to face Bruce.

If Dick was Superman, he would have seen Ravager pull the trigger. If he was Superman, he would have been able to see through Ravager's mask and the smile plastered onto his face. If he was Superman, he would have seen the two bullets being released in slow-mode thanks to super-speed. If he was Superman, he would have been able to reflect the bullets against his chest in an instant. But Dick was just Dick Grayson. And what he saw was far more... human... and fatal.

BANG! BANG!

And all he saw was Ravager pull the trigger twice. He heard two loud gun shots sound through the air. He saw Bruce attempt to dodge, but Bruce was only human and even a near perfected human body couldn't dodge what the Flash could. He saw the impacts of the bullets hit Bruce in the chest and he heard the sound of fabric tearing as the bullets went out the other way.

Bruce could survive anything. Underneath, he always wore a part of his Batsuit. Especially the chest and that was designed to survive anything. Anything!

Anything but a straight shot.

Like those.

Dick saw Bruce's face contort. Then blood began to seep down onto his suit, one directly by the heart. Dick was frozen in horror. No. This couldn't be happening. He wasn't shot. His eyes and his ears were fooling him. No, this couldn't... Now his eyesight was giving way to the water filling up on the rims of his eyes. He was able to see Bruce fall backwards towards the ground. And as he watched, Dick was able to catch a small glimpse of Bruce's eyes looking directly at him, giving him all the terror, panic, and sorrow he needed.

Bruce's eyes were calm, but strong, ready, telling him to do the same. To take care of them, all of them, himself. Saying everything, in one look, it was a look that both haunted and paralyzed Dick at that moment with fear. Bruce then closed his eyes, seeing Dick had seen him, seen that look. That's all he needed to do. That's all.

No!

The Dark Knight fell to the ground and hit hard... He couldn't... This couldn't be happening. Bruce couldn't... He just... No! NO! Dick shook his head finally and felt the tears beginning to fall without his say so. Then it all came out as the shock left him and instinct boiled through his body.

"NO! BRUCE! BRUCE!" Dick screamed, desperately wanting his yells to do something, anything, anything!

But Bruce didn't move. He was a motionless figure lying on the floor of his office. Too much like six years ago. Too much like the last two. Too much like Mom and Dad. Too much... Dick tried to run, to make his way over to him, to help him, he had to, all the while knowing that he could very well find more blood to stain his helpless hands.

But he found mid yell that someone was still in the room and kept him back, "BRUC..."

"Shut up, kid!" Ravager told him, throwing him across the room and into a pillar.

He hit his head hard, yelped, and fell to the ground, dizzy. Stupid, he should have... Where... As he got to his knees, he looked over at Bruce's form and saw Ravager pouring a tank of liquid that had been in his backpack onto Bruce and the area around him, cutting him off completely. He began to feel the heat from the flames.

Ravager took out the blowtorch and walked over to the broken windows.

Oh no.

Ravager pulled one more trigger.

BOOM!

Dick screamed as the floor rumbled and shook angrily.

On the streets a loud blast rocketed through the sky and people looked up at the center building. The pride and joy of Gotham: Wayne Tower, in smoke and engulfed in a heavy inferno of flames. Dick laid in the smoking room on the ground that threatened him with instability, while whispering...

"Bruce... Bruce..."

It was so hot. Wooden beams began to crackle and fall. He could feel his own blood leaking from cuts in his skin and sweat mingling with it to accommodate him in this heat. He heard something moving debris, someone...

"I.. I'm... sorry..."

Someone saw him, as they moved away from the hottest of the flames.

"Bruce... bruce... please... I... please..."

The flames began to eat the place away. He had been so happy up until that point that night. His wonderful evening, gone, but that was the least of his worries. The charred office he was in no longer resembled its former glory, surely not the place where he and Bruce were arguing mere minutes before. Arguing, stupid... He hated himself for it. One last tear fell as that night, as the Gotham Clock sounded off the end of all Hallow's Eve. Dick's blurred vision picked up a figure, thin, dark purple. He felt their gentle leathered hands on his face, but he couldn't take it anymore. In seconds, Dick succumbed to the pain in his lungs that burned from the smoke and slipped into unconsciousness.

Inside the office, off to the side, a paper burned. A newspaper on what was once a chair, Bruce's chair.

"Dynamic Duo Back!" screamed across its front page.

It didn't last long as the flames slowly, bit by bit, ate it. Ate it all away. Meanwhile, across town, Slade let a rare moment of sick laughter escape him as he smiled at the scene on the news as Wayne Tower's inferno roared.

End Of Part Three

Raven

Overview

Daughter of the inter dimensional demon Trigon and human mother Arella, Raven is the Titans' resident Mistress of Magic. In a near constant state of meditation in an attempt to control her emotions which could wreak havoc if left alone, Raven is much calmer, quieter, and level headed than most of the Titans. Despite her lineage, Raven had always hoped that she would be able to defy prophecies that stated that she would act as the portal to Earth for her father, who's sole goal was to reign over the world with death and destruction. When the time came, with the help of the Titans, Raven was able to stop her father's plans. Since that time, Raven has become much more confident with her abilities as well as her place amongst the Titans. However, she must still continue to oversee her emotions so that nothing calamitous befalls her and others due to her powers of dark origin.

Adaptation

Raven remains fairly true to her cartoon counterpart. I felt that the cartoon was great in that Raven was able to be more of an action oriented character and not limited to being an empath or esper. It allowed for more of her involvement in the plot of stories as well as more of a conflict within herself. She supports peace, but fights to protect the innocent, a very contradictory kind of path (a bit like Dove out of DC's Hawk and Dove). Additionally, this meant that she would have a harder time controlling her powers as she would need to use them just enough to use her telekinetic abilities, while still reigning them in. Furthermore, she is clearly the most powerful of all of the Titans, making her the stability of her powers highly important.

As far as personal characteristics, again, she remains more true to her cartoon persona. She's an intellect, sarcastic at times, and prefers seclusion, but is fiercely loyal and grateful for her friends' companionship. Additionally, she has a strong sense of perception and can sense many things others can't or don't right away due to her empathic abilities, as well as her own insightfulness. One difference from her cartoon self that she gains from the comics is her alias as Rachel Roth, which she uses when the Titans have a need to go undercover.

Personality and Relationships

Due to the nature of her powers, Raven focuses a high amount of her time on controlling her emotions. This leads her to be a bit reclusive and more of an introvert than the rest of the Titans. However, simply because she has to control her emotions, does not mean that she is void of them. Rather she works to control them through means of meditation, reading, and overall calming activities. Being well read, Raven is also extremely intelligent and regularly offers solid advice and insights into criminal cases and behaviors.

Though Raven tends to stick to herself, she does have good friendships with each of the Titans. She puts up with the boys' rambunctiousness and entertains Starfire's more girly whims, seemingly begrudgingly at times, but the change of pace is secretly a welcome one. After an instance in which she created a mind-bond with Robin to help him during an attack on his mind by Slade, she can now more easily create a source of communication between the two of them telepathically. She is fiercely loyal to her friends and ultimately, her biggest wish is to never be a source of harm to them, which motivates her to gain a stronger control over her emotions and powers.

Personal Thoughts

I always got the impression that although I liked Raven as a character, I didn't like her as much as most people did, haha. She had quiet the fanbase! And I don't blame anyone for liking her character at all. Honestly, I almost felt a little left out because she wasn't my favorite. ^^; Even though Robin was my favorite, I had a lot of respect for Raven as a character and greatly appreciated the fact that the writers tackled bigger, more serious issues with Raven, particularly ones that were more relatable to kids and teenagers. All of the Titans were relatable and had issues that we as an audience could understand, but Raven often touched on some that were... closer to home and more threatening. 

Episodes like "Spellbound" with the comparative aspects to online predators as well as the fear of being cast out because one doesn't fit in, or of course her entire arc line in Season 4, where she comes to the realization that her birth parents don't have to define who she is or who her family is, I think were really powerful messages that even today, we don't see enough of in shows targeted at kids and teenagers. 

That said, I really loved how they updated and brought a character into the 21st century. She went from being purely a mystic, who could be seen as either overly dramatic or unfair at first glance (you really had to read a lot of Titans comics to get to know her I felt; after all, she tried to stay away from the Titans, of course readers are going to feel that exclusion at times too), to someone who was filled with many emotions all fighting to be heard. In that regard, I think everyone could relate to her on some level and could root for her to continue to be strong in the face of overwhelming obstacles. Because really, I think we'd all hope that we could have that same strength if needed and her ability to overcome those challenges, helps us believe that we could do the same.

Chapter Fourteen: One Bad Joke

Chapter Fourteen: One Bad Joke

"Yo! B! Where's my toothbrush?"

"How would I know? It goes in your mouth!"

"Well you're packin' everythin' in the bathrooms!"

"I didn't get to it yet!"

"Well why don't you get to it?"

"Will you two shut up!?"

Both boys looked down the hallway to see Raven glaring at them with vengeance in her eyes. Zipping their lips, Beast Boy and Cyborg switched places from the hallway and the bathroom and began packing without argument. Raven sighed. This would be worse than traveling to Azarath and back with only a car to get you there. Starfire came out from around the corner, confused by the earlier yelling. Raven shook her head at her, a clear sign that whatever the yelling was about, it was pointless.

Starfire shrugged with a smile and asked her, "I am sure that this will be easier once we get into the T-Car, friend Raven."

"I hope so Starfire," Raven told her as they both began walking to the front with the few bags they had already packed.

"I can not wait to see friend Robin again," Starfire told her, "It has been nearly a month. Why, is not the day of Hallows Eve coming the up?"

Raven looked at her, baffled for a moment and then answered, "Oh, Halloween, yeah, it's coming up. Maybe, what, four more days? At least the boys won't be able to go ballistic for candy this year if we're in Gotham."

It was quiet for a moment, until Starfire begged the question, "Raven? Have you ever been to the City of Gotham?"

Raven sighed and shook her head, "I have only heard. And while the city seems to stand high in the dark, I do not believe it is a city even I would enjoy living in."

Starfire felt her arms tense, but resisted the urge to swallow hard. If Raven didn't like something, it couldn't be good. And Robin had gone willingly? Well, perhaps not willingly, but he had volunteered. It was somewhat... disturbing, unsettling for her. They placed their bags down and went to go finish packing as did Raven. But Raven didn't get as far as Starfire did.

"So..."

Raven turned to see Red X standing in the corner. She glared at him. It had been too much work to keep an eye on him, so against their better judgment, they had decided to let him roam around on his own, provided all top security rooms were locked, double time.

"What do you want?" She asked bitterly.

Red X knew that she wasn't in the mood for this, but he had to ask someone and the other boys weren't going to be of any help at the moment. In addition, Starfire had taken a distinct dislike to him, threatening to tear out his eyes if he stalked her outside the bathroom while she was taking a shower again. She must have gotten sick of being hit on. Raven was perhaps the one person who hadn't had the urge to throw him out the window... yet.

"I'd like to know what on earth I'm supposed to do until you Titans get back. Do you even know when you're getting back?" He asked, still with that same smugness, but in an almost tentative way at the same time.

She sighed and answered, "We've left you the fridge. We're locking you in. If you need to get out, call Cyborg. Order pizza if you run out of food."

"Gee, thanks for the concern," Red X answered.

"Aren't you a big bad boy?" Raven sarcastically handled.

"Oh, taking up name-calling, are we?" Red X prodded.

Raven turned and glared at him, "Watch it and don't you dare step out of line because if you do, I'll make sure you regret it."

But before Raven attempted to retreat, Red X started back and she felt her head begin to pound. Fortunately, just then Beast Boy showed up, suitcases in his hands.

"Raven?" He asked, looking between the two, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She barked and was going to leave when he asked her something

"Hey Rae, wait! Please tell me you have less stuff than Starfire has in your bathroom?"

"I don't have much, Beast Boy," She sighed gently, but still with a warning tone in her voice.

"Alright, well, guess I should say thank you at least," He commented.

"Why?"

"'Cause your makeup bag is probably going to be considerably lighter than Star's," Beast Boy told her and added, "Not that you need it, you know."

Beast Boy laughed a little, but sensed awkwardness and quickly continued down the hall and around the corner. Raven watched and then sighed. He was trying to be nice. She knew it. And in a weird sort of way, he was. If only he could rid her of her migraine. And then she noticed that Red X was still standing there, with the worst sort of look in his eye. She instantly teleported to the roof and levitated in a meditation position. But before she could begin her incantation, someone interrupted.

"So why would I regret it?" Red X asked.

She opened just one eye, while wondering how on earth that guy could do that, "You're already pushing the line..."

"Then why haven't you kicked me out?"

"Because... I'm torn..." Raven finally answered, "Azarath, Metrion…"

Red X raised a brow and waited for an answer. There was none but she continued to chant, so he pushed for it, "Why?"

Raven continued, "There is something in you that I can't decipher."

"Like what?"

"Your nature. Your actions, motivations..." Raven closed her eyes and focused, maybe this would help… "You've been predetermined with good intentions, but something... something changed you. You know not what is right and what is wrong, as though it has been suppressed. And thus the evil and good within you are a muddy mix that I have trouble separating."

Red X looked taken aback, but replied, "You think this mumbo jumbo speech is going to make me change or something?"

"No," Raven answered.

"Then why are you telling me?" Red X inquired.

"Because you asked me. Now if you're only going to waste my time, leave," Raven told him; she had to concentrate…

Surprisingly, Red X laughed, "Alright, touché. So you don't know where I'm going to lean towards, so you wait. Nice to know that that part of me will still work on you Titans."

He sighed as he laid down on the ground while Raven levitated. She was trying to ignore him and wasn't doing a very good job at it. And yet she had to. Her head was aching. Going to Gotham. It was such a bad idea. She could feel it. Or maybe it wasn't so much a bad idea as it was going to a place like…

"So, you like him?"

Raven opened an eye, "Who?"

"That dork, Beast Boy?"

Raven's eyes snapped open and she hoped that Red X didn't see. He didn't, but Red X knew that he had hit something.

"I… I don't really have that privilege," Raven answered.

"It's a privilege to like that guy?" Red X asked, "Man, does he have an ego."

"No, it's not him or anyone, it's me," Raven told him, "You'd understand if you'd ever seen me… lose it."

"I bet I'd survive," Red commented, his attitude cocky.

"Don't push it, X, you really just don't know when to stop," She told him.

Her head was pounding. She didn't want to talk. She had to chant. Her head…

"So what's Robbie doing in Gotham anyway?"

"Working," Raven answered, shutting her eyes shut tight.

"And why can't I come?" He asked.

"For that reason," Raven told him.

"That's not a very good rea..."

"Shut up!" Raven yelled.

Red X jumped back as he saw two more eyes begin to grow from her forehead while her breath became ragged and dragged out, in pain and almost a sick delight. It lasted but a few seconds, until Raven regained control. Red X watched as Raven cowered, her hood completely hiding her face, unsure as to how to react.

Finally Raven offered explanation, "Something... something bad... is about to happen... In Gotham..."

She breathed heavily and Red X tentatively took a step forward, but Raven held out her hand and announced, "Learn your place. Do not interfere."

"Alright, alright, chill," He answered.

With that, Raven disappeared into a drift and back to her room, leaving Red X alone on the rooftop. He strode over to the rooftop entrance.

'Learn your place.'

'Don't interfere.'

What was he? Chopped liver? Whatever Raven was going on about, he didn't care. There was no way the Titans were doing this to him. Besides, whatever was going to happen in Gotham, it couldn't be that bad...

Could it?

Red X shrugged it off, as it made no difference to him, and walked down the empty hallway.

-T-

Water dripped from the ceiling and onto Ollie's jacket. Perfect timing. Of course as soon as he got out of the plane something would drip on him. At least it wasn't some present left by one of Bruce's flying friends who liked to nest on the ceiling. He brushed it off and continued to pay attention to Batman who was comparing the message and codes to that of Diana's and the rest of the JLA's.

"Diana, please tell me again why I had to come here," Oliver asked.

"It wouldn't be so painful if you'd quit whining, Arrow," Wonder Woman informed him in a hushed whisper.

Princess Diana, Wonder Woman, somehow you listened to her if you were a guy. She was naturally a born leader and commanded respect. Her outfit would often glitter in the sun, reflecting the nation which she had begun calling home. Right now, her lasso glowed in the dark with power while the light hit her tiara and bracelets. She respected every woman and let them talk to her openly. Only in the JLA did she work with other men while the only men she saw as equals were Batman and Superman.

"You can stop the whispering, Diana," Batman told her, "It's just as distracting."

Diana was about to reply when Alfred called over the intercom, "Sir, shall I wake Master Dick?"

"Please do so, Alfred," Batman answered and continued on with his work.

Wonder Woman turned at the mention of Dick, an eyebrow raised at a still oblivious Bruce.

"You neglected to mention that Dick was staying with you again," She said, hoping to get a reaction, anything, out of Bruce.

"It was irrelevant to the JLA business," Bruce told her.

Wonder Woman looked at him sternly, "I do believe we are also friends, Bruce."

Batman only looked at her for a moment and went back to his work, so Diana cut in again, "So what's made you so uptight about this hacker that you need Kryptonian, Thanagarian, Amazonian, Rannian and all the other sources of technology in the world at your finger tips?"

"I'm trying to find some string, some trace of who left the message at the end where their code or original trace should have been," Batman answered, scanning over Oliver's own technology.

"What'd this message say anyway?" Diana asked.

"They had other plans," Batman answered, leaving out the first half of the message.

Wonder Woman's eyebrows raised, but she said nothing. That is until Oliver tapped her on the shoulder.

"What?"

"Where's the bathroom in your see-through Jet?"

She was half torn in her answer while Oliver grinned his dorky smile right up at her. Meanwhile, Alfred was having just as much trouble trying to get Master Dick up and awake.

"I must, uh, insist Master Dick, ugh, that you get up," Alfred informed the sleeping teen between tugs to get Dick to let go of his bed sheets.

"Alfred, come on, with that stupid drag race last night…"

"I do not care what sort of shanagins you got yourself into last night, Master Dick, and quite frankly, neither does Master Bruce," Alfred told him, letting go of the sheets.

Dick raised his head in question, "Huh?"

"It's seven in the evening, Dick," Alfred explained.

Dick groaned. Now he was switching to Bruce's sleeping schedule. He'd been here too long. Way too long. And to top it off, he was tired. And all he wanted to do was sleep and go back to the dream he had been having. The one with his friends in it. The one with her in it and her beautiful sweet smile. But no, he was stuck here with Bruce and his obsessive, unnatural sleeping habits.

"I do believe Miss Diana Prince and Mr. Oliver Queen are present," Alfred added as a motivation.

Dick looked up at Alfred who had offered a brief smile. With that, Dick shot up from his bed and began to hastily get dressed to go down and see the Amazing Amazon and Emerald Archer.

Down below, the door to the cave opened from and Dick came down. As he raced below, he caught sight of Diana and Oliver and smiled. Diana attempted to show the same enthusiasm while Ollie easily surpassed Dick himself with a laugh.

"Boy Wonder!" He called up, "Where's the tights, kid?"

Dick smiled and jumped down the rest of the steps, "Oliver, Princess Diana, what are you doing here?"

Wonder Woman composed herself again and answered, "Dropping some samples of technology off for Batman from the watchtower. What are you doing here?"

"There's been a connection between crimes in Jump and Gotham, so I'm just here till we solve it," Dick answered.

"Did you grow a foot or somethin'?" Green Arrow asked him, pretending to measure the difference with his bow.

"Just a few inches, Arrow," Dick answered rolling his eyes, "How's Speedy? Haven't seen him lately with him working for Titans East."

"You and me both. He's been ignorin' me lately I think, probably mad at something. Told me last that he was dating some girl named Jade. Proud of him for that though, he needs a girl. Anyways, have I ever told you how I met Speedy? It was a close..."

Green Arrow went into one of his tall tales as Dick only half listened. Diana however, felt her chest tighten. Once she was sure that Oliver was fully immersed in his story, Diana walked up to Batman and tried to make some type of conversation a reality. But before she could, Alfred came up to the Dark Knight.

"Sir…"

"Yes, Alfred?" Batman asked the butler, who had followed Dick downstairs in the latter moments.

"Before I forget, you have an evening meeting October thirty first for Project Firewall, it won't go long though. And I must remind you to take care of your face sometime before you retire tomorrow for the day," Alfred lectured in a soft voice, sounding much like an overbearing parent.

Wonder Woman repressed a snicker while Green Arrow continued to rant on not noticing. Bruce merely rubbed his jaw smoothly. He turned away and continued to work, cutting off any chance for Oliver to hear any more of it.

She nonchalantly asked, "So, what's he mean about your face?"

"I just need to shave," Bruce told her, trying to get off the subject.

Strangely, as far as Diana could tell, Bruce was clean-shaven. She tried again to make conversation, "Dick's grown a lot in the past two years."

"I suppose," Bruce commented.

"Clark said that he's been trying to reach you," She continued.

"I've got my hands full," Batman replied.

Clearly, she wasn't going to get anywhere. Diana sighed as Ollie finished his story to Dick, who was beginning to question Ollie's memory, "You know, I thought that Speedy met you at a Native American reservation..."

"Yeah, yeah, that's where this all took place!" Oliver told him, "You worry too much about the details kid."

"You ready to go?" Wonder Woman asked him.

"As soon as you are, Babe," Green Arrow answered, receiving a punch to the arm, "Ow."

"We have to go, Batman. We'll call if we need you," Wonder Woman told him, "Oh, and call Clark if you get the chance. He's worried about some things going on in Metropolis."

"Hey, Green Arrow, can you hold up a minute? I need to get something to Speedy..."

"Dick," Bruce interrupted harshly, "They need to get going and you should have changed about five minutes ago if you were planning to go out tonight."

Dick lowered his head slightly, but with a bitter face and nodded, "Sorry, see ya guys later."

Oliver answered back, inwardly speculating, "Sure, kid, sure."

He wasn't quite ready to go now. As Dick left, Oliver was about to ask what that was about, when Wonder Woman held him back.

"We've got to get going. Call if you need anything Bruce," Wonder Woman told him and the two began to walk off to the Invisible Jet.

"Don't get involved, Oliver," She commanded.

Oliver snorted and whispered, "And please, tell me why not?"

"Just don't," She repeated.

"Diana, why?"

Finally, Wonder Woman stopped and turned to look at him as they reached the Invisible Jet, "Ollie, they just… I'm surprised Clark didn't bother telling me that Dick was here, but, Bruce and Dick… whatever's going on with them, they'll want us to stay out of it."

She began climbing into her jet, when Ollie followed and asked back, "Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Going to get involved?"

Wonder Woman sat down in the jet and began to turn on the engines, "Only if they prove that men are as incompetent as they seem to be. Then again you already seem to do that fine without any other guy's help."

"Thank you!" Green Arrow added, jumping into his seat, "I'll take that as a compliment."

As the engines revved and the Jet began to emit long roars echo throughout the cave, Robin came out to watch. There was little to say, but he wished that he could have gotten up earlier. He heard Bruce talking to Fox over the phone, but didn't bother interrupting to say 'hi'. No doubt Bruce would tell him to do something else or question him about something he forgot to do.

"Yes, have it in my office in the morning… Yes, the prototype… No, no, you can continue making arrangements for the production..." He laughed, "No doubt the government agents will be… Oh? Alright. Well, thank you, Fox. I'll see you tomorrow, two good? Alright. Thank you."

"What was that about?" Robin asked.

"New prototype Fox is building," Batman told him.

Was it so impossible for the man to elaborate? Apparently so, considering he just continued typing and working on the technology samples.

"Would you look at some of these hacking tools?" Batman asked, "I'm only going off of what you described…"

Robin came up and watched the mini screens hoping that he'd see what he had seen four nights ago, but, "These codes don't match, Batman."

"They don't even resemble…"

"No, nothing like it. It was nothing like the Kryptonian or Thanagarian stuff. This person was human. They used techniques specific to our systems, to any…"

Batman looked at Robin and he got the point to quit talking now. Sitting down, Robin folded his arms and waited to be spoken to. Yes, he was all dressed up as Robin and there was nothing that Batman wanted him to do but sit and wait for instructions.

He didn't have to wait long.

The alarm rang throughout the cave and the bats above screeched at being woken up early. The Bat Computer's screen automatically switched to one of Batman's many cameras to see balloons in the air over the Wayne Oil Refinery. And then the speakers turned on and any bats who hadn't been disturbed now were.

"HAHaHAHahaHaHAHahaHAHahaHAHaHAHahaHaHAHahaHAHahaha!"

"Joker… Robin, move!"

He didn't have to tell Robin twice and they both were in the Batmobile speeding away to the Oil Refinery. The streets became blurs and Robin wondered how on earth it was that Batman could drive this fast and this accurately. A certain threat to Speed Racer for sure. And then he remembered that he was learning to do this as well. He was shaken out of his daze when the Batmobile screeched to a halt. He jumped out to see dozens of air balloons in the air, apparently carrying jack in the boxes, all turning slowly.

Cops surrounded the area led by Bennett and Yin. They all pointed their guns at the mad man, but none of them fired. They were ready, they had him surrounded. But the laugh sounded at their near terrified faces. Seeing the Dynamic Duo, the cops let the two come forward, as though they were the SWAT team, because they basically were. Before going past the line, Batman was stopped by Bennett.

"We got your back, Batman," He told him, "If you need us…"

"I'll call, but don't let your men doing anything without my go ahead, Bennett," Batman said from the corner of his mouth, his voice gruff, but direct.

"Bats! You're late," Joker teased as Batman and Robin walked forward, "Did bird-boy here hold you up?"

Robin took out his bo-staff threateningly. Everyone tensed, but Joker only laughed, "I can see you've grown a couple inches, kid, but please, don't flatter yourself."

Robin seethed, but suddenly was aware of another threat. Joker had been out in the open. But he held his hand behind his back and there was a huge tank on his thin lanky back.

"So how are you going to stop me this time, Batman? Aren't you going to try and…"

"Batman," Robin whispered, "What…"

Joker took out a pistol and hit two of the balloons above. Instantly, they released a liquid which poured down towards the Dynamic Duo and another towards a police car. They both dodged the threat and looked back to see craters where the liquid had landed.

"Acid, Joker?" Batman asked, "Don't have any new brilliant ideas lately?"

Joker laughed, nearly choking, "Batman, you know I always have something new for every show!"

Joker brought forth a large red button and they all knew that those were bad. Batman watched as he hit a trigger and suddenly, clown robots emerged all carrying tanks of liquid on their backs.

"See here Bats, here's the dilemma. You see those air balloons? They're here to advertise my new show. They're going to go throughout Gotham and explode with laughter all through out for announcements…" He let the Dynamic Duo's eyes widen before continuing with a laugh, "But, that's not all. You see, I just keep feeling like Gotham doesn't laugh enough, so I'll be adding my special laughing gas to well, their gas!"

The Oil Refinery… if that laughing gas was released nearly all of the Wayne connected gas stations in Gotham would be contaminated in minutes and if that gas got into the tanks of all of the cars, it would release the laughing gas into the air with the exhaust. And there was a pretty good chance of that happening considering that Wayne Gas was the cheapest around Gotham: a dollar per gallon. Yeah, Bruce had been working on solving that problem with Fox, too.

"Choose wisely, Bats, you can't hope to keep the joke from everyone. Now be a deary and allow these fine young bots into the refinery."

"Where'd he get this stuff?" Robin asked.

"Doesn't matter now, on my mark…" Batman whispered.

The robots made their way to the Refinery's wall. As soon as one of them opened the door, Joker turned, but for only a moment.

"Now!"

Batman threw a cement bomb at the door, blocking Harley, and went for the Joker, careful to stay away from the laughing gas, while Robin leaped up towards the sky. The balloons began to float off. Throwing a birdarang, Robin hit his target, but destroyed electrical equipment in the process. Now that he looked at it, the balloons were all going off on dangerous courses. Great. Batman had his own problems, too. Joker was not easily dismantled.

"So why'd you bring the bird boy back, Bats?" Joker quipped as he dodged, "Am I too much to handle?"

"This isn't a game, Joker," Batman ignored the comment.

"Of course it is," Joker retorted, "You can't hope to win it all, either."

Yin and Bennett hid behind their cars, the rest of the cops with them, crouched and waiting for any opportunity. They couldn't shoot the bots – otherwise the gas could be released and Gordon would never forgive them. Yin kept her head above the car looking for any opening. Anything. Anything! And there was nothing.

"Agh," She groaned, "This is pathetic. It's one guy!"

"Bats will handle it Yin, don't worry," Bennett told her.

"I'm sitting back here Ethan," She shot when an opening caught her eye, "Come on!"

She ran off around the blockade, leaving a confused Ethan in her wake, "Wait, Yin! Aw, come on!"

With little choice, Ethan ran off behind her while above him Robin leapt from pillar to pillar towards the balloons. Once above the Refinery, Robin leaped into the air, catching hold of one of the air balloons, which began to drop rapidly with the added weight. As he attempted to open up the box, the acid began to seep out. Robin kept moving, his nimble fingers trying to pull out the box of acid, but then…

Snap!

The wires holding the box cut as the acid burnt threw them. Locked in combat, Joker looked up and laughed while Batman's eyes widened as his ward began to fall. Robin screamed and came within ten feet of the ground when something caught him.

"Huh?" Robin looked below him at the dark plate that hovered above the ground.

A boom sounded with a roar and a pillar nearby the refinery fell onto several of the robots, crushing them.

"Well, that was easy."

It was time for Joker to be shocked, "Who…"

Four teenagers stood or hovered above the fallen pillar, eyes glowing and cannons lit. A green one, the shape shifter. A hooded one, the mistress of magic. A flying one, the alien powerhouse. A cyborg, the half man, half robot. He had heard of them, Robin's team, but he'd never heard of how fierce they actually could look if they tried. He'd have to put them into time out.

Cyborg stepped forward, "We're the Teen Titans. I don't think we've met."

"No!" Joker yelled, pushing Batman to the ground, who had been distracted by the Titans' arrival.

Robin jumped to the ground, "Cyborg, Beast Boy, take the remaining robots. Starfire, Raven, take the balloons!"

They split up while Robin rushed ahead towards the Joker with a Bo-Staff. The problem that the Joker always presented was his nimble and thin stature, making it difficult for Robin to get a good hit as the Joker constantly dodged him.

"Oh, now Bats' got a whole gang of kiddies," Joker mocked and grabbed Robin's Bo-Staff, "How cute."

Putting knee to Robin's gut, Robin stumbled and the Joker laughed. That is, he laughed till Batman gave him a good punch to the jaw, his bones cracking. Above, Raven and Starfire were having their own difficulties. Raven couldn't touch them without making the balloons sizzle and explode while Starfire couldn't hit them without the acid exploding over the field.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

The balloons themselves began to come close together. As soon as they were close enough… Starfire let loose a large starbolt. The boxes began to fall into one of Raven's shields, effectively containing the acid while the balloon pieces flew everywhere. Starfire turned only to find one hitting her in the back. She began to fall dazed. Robin was the first to notice.

"Starfire!" But that got him a punch to his skull from the Joker.

Starfire's eyes fluttered open and within seconds, she realized what was going on. Instantly she flew back up into the sky, ready for the next batch of balloons. Meanwhile, Beast Boy and Cyborg were having their own trouble with the robots who now that they were blocked from the outside, couldn't get in unless they climbed. And they did. As Beast Boy and Cyborg approached, a few turned towards them to create a barrier and attacked, skillfully.

"Dude!" Beast Boy yelled.

"What?" Cyborg said between ducking attacks and punching his opponents.

"Did I mention that I hate clowns?"

"Not too fond of them myself right now, B," Cyborg replied.

"Hey, how'd you get…?"

Cyborg let out a quick sigh of relief when finally Beast Boy used his brain and turned into a snake, effectively squeezing the robot. He would have laughed save for the fact that these robots seemed to come out of nowhere to replenish the dwindling inventory of robots. Cyborg himself was getting tired of all the idiotic robots, too. Their crazed faces were disturbing and they had the most flexible bodies he had ever seen. This was just plain creepy.

"Alright, that's it!" With a yell, Cyborg maxed out his sonic cannon, destroying the wires inside the robots and making them useless, "Boo yah!"

As they began to eliminate the robots, Joker was the last threat. They could still lose. Not that Yin or Bennett could tell considering that they were too busy going around and climbing the wall that surrounded the Refinery so they could get behind. It was dead quiet save for the explosions they heard near the front. As Yin got up and Ethan fell over and onto his back, she scanned the area.

"Tell me again why this was a good idea?" He asked.

"I thought you liked being in on the action, Bennett!" She remarked.

"Yeah, but Ellen, this is not what Bats told us to do," Ethan replied.

"We're just positioning ourselves, Ethan, no biggy," She said.

"Yin, come on, this is just…" But he was cut off as something fell and hit the floor. They both looked over to see a large oil container roll towards them to a stop.

Ethan gulped, "Didn't you say earlier that this place was… uh, empty?"

"Harley, Joker must be working with her," Yin reasoned, "let's go."

Running down the lots, the two soon caught a glimpse of a shadow. Someone else was here. Then soon hit a fork in the road and they both looked left and right. Where had they…

"You go left," Ethan told her.

"You go right," Ellen responded.

Taking out their guns and tranquilizers, the two split up. Ethan ran around a corner. Somehow, something didn't feel right. It was really quiet. He knew that he was close to the action. There were still 'booms' and 'bangs' that he could hear from here, but still. It was closed off, remote, like a dead end.

"Well, well, well," A voice came from the darkness. Ethan looked up and pulled his gun out towards the disembodied voice.

"Who are you?" This wasn't a woman. This wasn't Harley.

"Now why would that matter?"

"Why don't you come out, ya coward?" He asked.

"Very well, but you'll wish I never had."

Slowly, a man emerged from the shadows, though they seemed to cling to him as though he were the Shadow-Thief. But no, this man wasn't Hawkman's problem. He was someone else. He'd seen him, but where?

"You've certainly saved me the trouble of tracking you down. Now, Bennett, you have two options. You leave Gotham, or die," Slade said, barely above a whisper.

"You're, insane… Why do you care if I'm here?" He asked.

Slade laughed, "Sorry, that's for me to know. Now, do me a favor. Choose before your partner comes back or I kill you both."

This man was crazy. Crazy, he had to get out of here, "Don't think so!"

He shot his gun where Slade had been, but missed and Slade quickly disarmed him and pinned him to the wall. Slade took out a match and picked up Bennett's gun which had fallen to the floor.

"You're a fool, Bennett."

Ethan's eye's widened as Slade lit the match and dropped it into the gun. This was so bad. Out front, things were barely improving. Between both Batman and Robin, the Joker was obviously getting tired, but the Joker was playing their emotions with ease. Come on though, how could he not? He used his own momentum to push the Dark Knight to the ground. Robin yelled and began to use his bo-staff to dodge and hit Joker where he could.

"You're pathetic bird-boy," Joker spat, "Why don't you fly home?"

"Please – that joke's so old," Robin quipped, "Got anything new?"

Joker smiled, his mangled teeth shining with his own spit and blood. Batman's eyes bulged as Joker knocked Robin to the ground and pulled a gun. No. Robin's blood froze. The world froze. Joker laughed.

"Say night, night, birdy," He said with a giggle.

This was it. It was over. Actually, it would have been, but somehow, Batman got to Joker's arm first and as Joker pulled the trigger, the bullet shot up harmlessly into the air. Batman quickly disarmed the Joker, while Robin regained a sense of what was going on. He kicked Joker to the ground and Batman restrained him with cuffs.

"Don't. Ever. Try. That. Again," He seethed.

As Joker laughed, Batman slugged him knocking the mad man unconscious. Raven and Starfire finally dismantled acid filled balloons and the robots ceased to come after Beast Boy and Cyborg. All at once, the cops started cheering and whistling at them. The Titans beamed. They had made it. Their first victory in Gotham! Robin went over to the Titans as they regrouped.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked, half excited, half confused as Starfire gave him a hug, "I thought I told you to stay in Jump!"

"Dude, you're not getting rid of us that easily, 'sides, Cyborg wants to compare notes," Beast Boy elaborated.

"Notes? What?" Robin asked.

"Same night Gotham had that weird hack job, I had one myself. Someone stole and copied all of my files. Figured it's time that we get out here and start really working on this case," Cyborg told him.

"We're staying in a hotel as aliases," Raven explained, "A little easier for you, we thought."

Robin smiled, that is till he saw Batman walking off towards the cops without even saying 'hello' to Robin's team. He nodded over to the guys and they followed. Batman wouldn't even face him as they followed.

"Batman, I, uh, you, um, these are my friends, the Teen Ti…"

"We'll talk about this later," Batman told him, shocking Robin beyond all belief.

He had… done something wrong? Again? Again!? What? What was this guy's problem? He was never good enough! Or, it could be the team. Whatever it was, it was his fault. It was always his fault. He felt an anger begin to burn when Batman stopped to talk to a nearby cop.

"Where's Yin and Bennett?" Batman asked a cop and Robin stopped.

"I, uh, they're over… I thought…"

A loud yell interrupted him and gave him his answer, "SOMEONE! ANYONE! PICK UP! COME ON!"

Batman instantly grabbed the man's radio, "Yin, what…"

"It's Ethan! He's… he's…"

"Where are you?"

"I… I'm behind the warehouse, warehouse N," She managed.

Batman wasted no time and quickly ran towards the warehouse around back. Robin followed quickly, knowing that Batman was worried. About what, he wasn't sure. The Titans, though confused, followed. Batman ran to the top of the warehouse and didn't have to look far when he saw traces of smoke rising from a side of the building. Jumping down a shaft between crates, he found Yin kneeling, her hands on the ground, trying to keep it together. Robin and the Titans rounded the corner, but none of them expected to see what they did.

Batman stood in front of them, staring at a wall. Three imprints where bullets had landed and blood splattered across the wall. Below, a ring of black soot from a fire and Ethan's gun lied on the ground nearby. Shot and incinerated. Yin felt tears dripping down her face. She cried. It was her fault. If she hadn't been such a complete idiot, action-obsessed fool… Robin swallowed. Ethan… Batman's fist began to tremble. Ethan had been Bruce's friend since they had been in elementary school. Oh no. Robin held his breath when Batman turned, angrily glaring at him, the scowl on his face radiating power and rage and somehow, all of that he felt was directly aimed at him for unknown reasons. He felt like he had to say something, anything, but he didn't know what.

He could only try, "Batman… I…"

"Just get to the car," Batman ordered, "All of you."

While the rest of the Titans backed up, Robin stood still, shocked, causing Batman bark louder, "Now!"

They didn't need to be told again. They all left, though Robin hesitated. The glare on Batman's cowl told him to go though. As he left, he felt Batman's marked determination. This had just become personal. Ethan was dead. He was dead. And it wasn't Joker. It was someone else. They couldn't let this murderer strike again. He didn't think Bruce could handle it.

He didn't know if he could handle it.