The alarm sounded. The team sprang into action, running towards the door. Robin jumped the couch and followed close behind.
"Titans go!"
"No!" They collectively shouted as they blocked his exit.
"What?"
"You will not be going out to fight." Starfire said sternly.
"Why not?! My leg is healed, I got my cast off!"
"Bro, You got your cast off this morning."
"And?"
"You haven't gone through physical therapy at all yet."
Robin frowned.
"Can you imagine how mad Bruce would be if you got hurt again, like right after you healed?"
Bruce had left for Gotham a week ago, and had made multiple phone calls to check in on Robin.
"I'm not even his biological son and he acts like I almost died."
"You did almost die."
"True. But still..."
"Stay here. It's just Rancid."
"Fine fine. I don't need his teasing anyway."
The team hurried out leaving him behind. He sighed and scuffed his shoe on the floor. Starfire zipped back in and without even touching the ground, kissed his forehead.
"Soon. Do not worry." Then she caught up with the team.
He let the tiniest of smirks grace his face before frowning again. Then he had an idea. "When they come back, it'll be time to eat dinner. I am NOT going to sit around here and just wait...I can't remember the last time I cooked. Let alone the last time Beast Boy and Cyborg didn't fight over meat." With that, he went to his room, grabbed his wallet, and made a list of ingredients. "Alfred taught me how to make lasagna how many years ago? Gosh, I can't remember anything! I'll have to call Alfred, hopefully Bruce is at the company."
A phone call later, Robin was off to the store on the R-cycle, a list in hand. He walked in the sliding door. Everyone stopped and looked at him, surprised and a little afraid.
He smiled nervously, "Uh, no trouble...superheroes have to eat to!"
That seemed to be a good enough excuse and they continued on their way. He sighed in relief.
"Okay first thing on the list, mushrooms and tomatoes."
He made his way through the store. People sending him questioning glances. A kid approached him with a piece of paper. He must have been only six or seven years old.
"Mr. Robin? Can you sign this paper?"
"You want my signature?"
"No, for a school assignment. I'm supposed to get a local hero to sign this and then interview them."
"Wow, what nice timing you have."
"I was going to the police station, when I saw you walking into the store, and I thought no other kid would get to interview you."
"No, I guess they wouldn't. This is my first time being out and about in a long time."
"Why?"
He paused and looked around. "Come and walk with me." He continued down the aisle as the kid followed after. "I was captured."
The kid made a face of awe. "Whhhoooaaaa!"
"Yeah, I was held captive for two weeks before I escaped. I was hurt though, and the other titans wouldn't let me go out until I healed."
Again, the kid looked in awe. "You get hurt?"
"Not very often, but I don't have any superpowers like my friends."
"I didn't know that."
"You can put that down in your interview if you want."
The kid used a shelf to scribble something while Robin looked for lasagna noodles.
"Why don't you start asking your questions?"
"Okay! Why did you become a hero?"
Robin smiled, "My parents were killed when I was little by a very bad man, so I wanted to make sure it didn't happen to anybody else...and I was adopted by The Batman."
The kid wrote down some more, as Robin waited for him. "How old were you when you started?"
"About your age actually. Maybe a little older."
"What's your favorite part of being a hero?"
Robin thought for a moment. "Kids like you. I like that I can keep you safe so you don't end up like me."
"Like you?"
"An orphan. But, I was adopted. I still miss my parents but Batman is still a good dad."
"What advice would you give someone who wants to be a hero?"
"Anyone can be a hero, it takes courage to do the right thing, and to stand up in the face of danger." Even though he whole-heartedly believed it, it still sounded cheesy.
"Can I ask you a question...off the record?"
"Shoot."
"Are you and Miss Starfire gonna get married?"
Robin laughed. "Yeah, someday...hopefully."
The kid slyly wrote down the answer. "Now will you sign the paper?"
"Sure." The kid handed him the pen and he signed a fancy 'R' on the dotted line. "And if anybody doesn't believe you, show them this." From his belt he withdrew a little button with his insignia on it.
"What is it?"
"From now on, you are a official honorary junior Titan."
"Whoa! Cool! Thanks Mr. Robin!"
"No problem."
"By the way, what are you doing here?"
"It's my turn to make dinner." He smiled. "Good luck on your homework." And he made his way to the checkout lines.
He became horror struck when he caught sight of the tabloids.
"Bird boy flew the cope?! Where's the leader of the Titans gone? Plus and exclusive look at his relationship with Starfire." The cover read. Robin narrowed his eyes and turned the tabloid over. The reverse side surprised him. It was a candid shot of control freak. "What's the fattest villain in jump planning? Who's going to stop him?"
He sighed and turned away.
"Oy! Look who's alive and kicking!"
Robin turned around to meet with a cranky old British man. "Hello Mod."
"Hello Mod? That's all your going to say?"
"Did you expect me do say something else? Paying for groceries isn't exactly something to arrest you for."
Mod opened his mouth to speak, but lost what he was going to say. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"Buying food for dinner."
"What? Mac and cheese? Frozen nuggets?"
He showed the old man his basket. "I'm making lasagna."
Mod looked a bit impressed. "And I thought you lot ate pizza and burgers for every meal."
"Most of them, since we're busy all the time."
"Well at least your trying to get something in you, ya twig!"
Robin gave a sheepish sort of smile as if to say, "That's not my fault." He cleared his throat. "Why don't you go ahead of me? I have more items than you."
"Are trying to pull your hero stuff on me?! Of all the crumby low down tricks! And just for that, I'm going to cut you...in line!" Mod grabbed his shoulders and gave him a firm yank behind him. "There, that'll show ya!"
Not really.
Robin ended up paying for Mod's groceries, bread and milk, and then made the trip home. To his joy, the team was still gone, and to make sure, he called Starfire to check in.
"How are you guys doing?"
She was flying when she answered. "We are fine, the Johnny Rancid is sending us on a chase of a rough pheasant."
"Wild goose chase." Raven corrected in the background.
"Yes, so we shall be home later."
"Okay, make sure you bring your appetite!" And he turned off the communicator with a new vigor. "I better call Alfred again and have him walk me through it, I don't want to mess this up."
He took out his cellphone, which he rarely used and called Al on speed dial.
"Ah Master Richard, is this about the lasagna again?"
"Yeah."
"You're in luck, when you mentioned it, I decided to make it as well. I was just about to get started."
"Holy Perfect timing!" Then he realized what he had said and cleared his throat.
"Reliving the good ole days, eh master Dick?"
"Whatever, let's get cooking."
About fifteen minutes later, the Titans came into the room.
"Dude! What smells amazing?!"
"Smells like lasagna."
"I already did the sauce and noodles...where do the mushrooms go?...in the sauce? Oh...I'll just put them in the next layer." All attention fell on Robin as he balanced the phone between his shoulder and the side of his head. With gloveless hands, he chopped the mushrooms finely and slid them into a boiling pot. He was wearing an apron and didn't seem to notice them yet. "Yeah, I put the garlic bread in to broil...of course I left the door open..." He said as he opened the door to the oven a smudge.
"Robin, what are you doing?" Star asked floating a foot behind him.
He jumped with a yelp, sending the phone across the kitchen. Raven saved it. "Holy cow!" He held his chest. "Please don't sneak up on me like that!"
"I am sorry."
"It's okay...I thought you guys weren't going to be home for awhile."
"As soon a Star hung up, Rancid's tire blew out."
"Wow, what luck." He spoke as he continued. "Sorry guys, I was hoping to finish this before you got home."
"Dude, we were expecting you to call us and tell us to bring home Taco Bell or something. Not make the whole dang dinner."
"Well, at least I could still surprise you. Oh Beast Boy, I'm making a quarter of this vegan for you."
"Dude, you are my best friend."
Robin laughed.
About an hour and a half later, the timer on the oven went off and a cheer went up through the room. "Man, I am starving!"
"I too, am quite famished."
They zoomed to the table where they sat waiting, utensils at the ready, drool dripping from the mouth.
"Dinner is served." He said cordially. He set the plates in front of them and took his own seat. The feeding frenzy began as Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Star tore into the food. Raven ate quietly.
Robin folded his hands in front of him. "Dear Lord Jesus..."
The others looked at each other, then set the food and utensils down, folding there hands like their leader.
"Thank you for the beautiful day you've given us today. We thank you that we can eat together as a family and most of all, we thank you for being with me during this whole situation. Thank you for all that you provide for us day to day and please bless this food on our bodies. All this we pray in your name, amen."
"AMEN!" The rest of the team shouted in response.
"And praise The Lord for making Robin a good chef!" Cyborg said gulping down a slice of garlic bread.
"Dude, we seriously keep finding out new things about you that we didn't know. Where did you learn to pray like that?"
"Just remembered from my dad praying when I was l little. I didn't think about it much, it just kinda came out."
"Did...you just mention your family?" Cyborg asked in awe.
Robin blinked. He talked to Star about his family and now the team knew about it...but he hadn't spoken about the past with them. "Yeah, I guess I did...you'll have to put up with it from now on."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, now that I'm okay with it, I probably will talk about them without thinking."
"'It'? What?"
"Their death. I've found peace through this whole thing. If I hadn't lost them, I never would have had such an amazing group of friends. I've experienced more then any normal human boy my age, and I'm a super hero! A kid asked for my signature today! I'm just happy my life is the way that it is."
"He did lose it, Cyborg! Get the restraints!" Beast Boy shouted.
Robin laughed. "No no, I'm just changing. I have a new appreciation for life, ya know?"
"...I'm still keeping my eye on you."
The next evening, the alarm went off and the titans sprang into action. Robin stood tall at the door.
"Hey Robin, ya wanna get run over?"
"I'm coming."
"No, you're not. You're still healing, and you can't handle it."
Robin clenched his fists. "I know. But I also know my limits. I can't take sitting around here by myself anymore. What better way to get back into the business then to dive back in? Besides..." He relaxed a bit. "It's control freak."
He made an excellent point. Soon, the T-car was zipping out to the southeast part of town. The warehouse district. They parked in front of an old radio factory. Idealistic for the freak. Robin shuddered involuntarily at the site of an abandoned factory.
"Be on your guard, you never know what he's planning."
In they walked, the building pitch black and silent inside. The door creaked and slammed shut behind them.
"It's a set up." Robin deduced.
A spotlight sprang on the obese villain standing on a platform. "Ladies and gentleman, babes and bros, heroes and villains, I am pleased to bring you..." A drum roll was inserted here.
"Robin! The Boy Wonder!"
A spotlight shone on him alone. Suddenly, he regretted coming. He was on guard, raising his fixed bird-a-rangs.
"Now now, you wouldn't want to do something you'll regret, would you?" He raised his remote and pressed a button. TV screens sprang to life as his face appeared on them. They covered the walls of the large room. But it wasn't the screens that made him panic. Standing on all sides, completely surrounding them, were villains wearing meaty smiles.
Jinx. Mammoth. Gizmo. Mad Mod. Killer Moth and Kitten. Rancid. Cinderblock. Mother Mae eye. Blackfire. Mumbo. Overload. Red X. Puppet Master. Billy Numerous. Doctor Light. Atlas. Fang. Adonis. See-more. Le Blanc. Kyd Wykkyd. All of their recurring foes, ready and raring to go.
The titans jumped and surrounded Robin to protect him. What happened next thoroughly surprised them all. Confetti exploded from the ceiling.
"Surprise! Welcome back Robin!"
The team lowered their weapons. "Excuse me?"
"We know that we've had our ins and outs but, we are calling a momentary truce for the evening." Control Freak strolled off the platform, cortically.
"Why should we trust you?" Robin hissed.
He was given solemn looks from around the room. "We know what Slade did to you."
"What?! How?!"
"We all received a video message a couple weeks ago." Control freak pressed another button. The image on the screen changed to Slade's face.
"Well hello you pathetic excuse for a criminal. I am sending you this message in account of your...opponent, the Teen Titans...specifically the leader, Robin. Today I have accomplished something that you could never dream of doing." The camera shifted to Richard's face. His eyes were wide and blood shot. Blood splattered across his face. "I unmasked him. Look at those sad eyes. Scared and alone. That's why he hides them, so that you don't see how weak he is. But that doesn't matter now, does it Robin?"
He didn't say anything. But let out a small whimper.
"Do you want to say something to your past foes?" He asked as if Robin was a child.
Robin's lips quivered. "...thank you...thank you...thank you! Thank you!" He near shouted. "Thank you...for not doing this to me..." He cried.
The camera went back to Slade. "You should thank me, with him out of the way, the Titans will be putty. That is until I get away with his murder. Have a nice evening." The camera turned back to Richard. "Now my friend, you said you had a toothache?" He held up a pair of pliers.
"STAY AWAY!" Static took over the screen.
Everyone collectively looked at Robin as he moved his tongue around inside his mouth.
"Scary thing is...I don't remember that...well what do you know? One of my molars is missing." He spoke nonchalantly.
"Well at any rate, we don't approve. We may be criminals, but we have morals. Murder and torture are below us." Control Freak finished.
"And that bloody know-it-all made us look like a bunch of incompetent fools!" Said by Mod.
"He not apart of the union either." Mumbo added.
"Union?" Raven asked.
"The Villains of America. We can be organized."
"There's seriously a Villain's union?"
"Yeah, we share information about heist opportunities when they aren't in our turf." Jinx provided.
"Or the situation like this, we all agreed that Slade is a total buttmunch." Gizmo smirked.
"It's our version of corporal courtesy." Killer Moth added.
"And anyone is allowed to be in this?" Cyborg asked.
"Well, there are rules. No intended murder, no torture, no abuse of other members, and a 8 percent cut divided among all the members in the union if a plan is pulled off successfully."
"That's a rarity."
"So let me get this straight..." Robin cut in. "You were all angry that Slade broke the rules of your union, even though he's not apart of it, and made you look like fools?"
"Yeah."
"And so what's all this?"
"It's a welcome back party Robby-poo!"
"Do you know how boring it is being a criminal without you crud munchers? That's why we came to jump, it's more interesting with the thrill of the chase."
"We're not as evil as you think, we all need to make a living somehow."
"And there is no way I'm working at mega-meaty-meat."
Beast Boy jumped in. "Dude...worst job ever."
"Why are we just standing around? Come on children, who wants pie?!"
"NNNOOO!" Came a collective shout.
"Oh calm down, I bought them!"
The night went along well. Control Freak made a video montage of different villains getting their faces crunched in by the boy, all on security footage. Different villains challenged the leader to friendly sparing matches. Each one he accepted, eager to get the hang of fighting again. He won some and he lost some, depending on the person.
By the end, everyone had a little bit of a different look at each other...as humans (or aliens). Not as enemies. For once, there was a friendly atmosphere amongst the two groups. When it was time to leave, Control Freak addressed the teens very seriously.
"We may have been friends tonight, but tomorrow, everything goes back to the way it was, got it?!"
Robin raised a masked eyebrow. "I didn't expect you guys to give up your lifestyle. Besides, the titans make a living off of stopping you."
"I thought Batman funded you guys..." Somebody shouted from the back.
"Well, yeah...but that's besides the point." He answered nervously. "See you guys on the field."
Right punch. Left jab. Sidekick. Spin kick. Punch punch punch. Jab. Punch. Robin was in the weight room, beating the crap out of a punching bag. His muscles strained as sweat rolled off his brow and shoulders. He was wearing basic gym shorts, white beater and tennis shoes, opting out of his uniform for something more breathable. He was also mask less. No reason to wear it in his own home, where everyone knows what he looks like underneath anyways.
He had been at this for two hours already. But He was far from exhausted, his motivation rang strong in his mind. "Become great." He slammed his elbow into the bag and reached for his water bottle.
A green chipmunk sat on top of it.
"Can I help you Beast Boy?"
He morphed back into a human. "Could you use a sparring partner? By chance?"
"Sure! In your human form? Or..."
"I'll be morphing as we go...maybe we can work on your reaction time."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Rawr!" Without warning, Beast Boy turned into a croc and snapped his jaws at Robin's feet. He missed by mere centimeters, Robin jumping and doing a double backflip. Beast Boy changed into a viper and shot out. With a swipe, Robin blocked the attack and the barrage afterwards. After about an hour, the two were circling each other, panting heavily. Beast Boy fell over onto the floor.
"BB?!" Robin panicked as he ran to help his friend.
"Ooo, Robby, the floor is cold. It feels good."
"You okay?"
"Perfect. Just exhausted. Aaaauuggghhhhh..." He sighed.
"Need an ice pack?"
"Please."
Robin chuckled as Beast Boy slithered over to a weight bench and laid down. Robin continued his work out.
More time passed and Cyborg came into the room. "Hey Rob, how's it going?"
He stopped mid push-up. "It's going good. Barely broke a sweat."
"And how many shirts have you gone through?"
"I'm only on my second." The drenched cloth hung on a hook fermenting in the corner. "On my fourth pair of socks though."
"Idealistic for stank ball."
"If you want them, they're in the laundry room."
"Actually I came in to spot you. You want to work on your biceps?"
"Ooh, being trained by a football player, man I'm going to be sore tomorrow."
"Just out of curiosity, how many days have you woke up not sore?"
"What can I say? I have a lot of lactic acid."
"You should probably chill tomorrow, your body will need to heal after all of this."
"I've been stretching."
"Ooo like that's going to make a whole world of difference. Seriously Robby, I want to see you up and running, too."
"Okay okay. But I'm still going today until I'm tired."
"Fine. Get on the bench."
Robin looked over at the weight equipment with a smirk. "You'll have to move Beast Boy. He passed out there like an hour ago."
Cyborg snorted. "The green bean crapped out? No surprise there." And he pushed Beast Boy off the bench with his foot. The younger titan laid perfectly content.
"How many reps?"
"How about ten of each? Rotate each time?"
"How many in each rep?"
"Ten. Simple to remember."
"Ookay." Cyborg lifted the bar for him, fifty pounds on each side. "This won't be too heavy?"
"Psh, nah." He gripped the bar and Cyborg let go. Almost immediately, the bar fell against his chest and he started squirming. "I lied! Too heavy!"
Cyborg replaced the bar with a chuckle. "Told you."
Robin stuck out his tongue.
After taking a short lunch break, he resumed his training with twenty five laps around the tower. After, he did some yoga style stretching on the beach.
Raven snuck up behind him. "You're looking lively."
"I'm in love with life, Rae. I just can't help it."
"I thought you were in love with Starfire." She said smugly. "Don't tell me your cheating."
"Oh no, my love for Star far surpasses my love of life." When he realized what he had said, he turned fifty shades of purple.
"Getting a loose tongue in your twitter-padded state, are you?"
"Eh, maybe I should exercise my thinking tomorrow."
"If you want, I could teach you to meditate."
"Glorious!" He exclaimed, doing a back bend.
"Glorious?"
"I never use that word...must be hanging out with Star too much."
"You think?"
Robin just smiled as he touched his feet to his head.
"That's disgusting."
"There's my superpower! Creeping Raven out by body contortion."
"It's not going to help in the battlefield much."
"No, I surmise it wouldn't." He went into a handstand and hopped across the rocks on his hands.
"I see really good progress. Mentally and physically."
"Hey young lady! Who gave you permission to check out my head?!"
"I got my slip bat-signed."
"Damn Bruce." He flipped forward onto his feet. "I feel like a race. Let's get the others and have a race! Uh, you can be ref."
"Do I get a whistle?"
A few minutes later, the team was assembled outside, in sports wear. "Okay team, here's what we're doing. First person around the tower ten times, wins."
"What's the prize?"
"The prize? Well, how about three weeks free of chores?"
"Or, how about the loser has to do all the chores?"
"I'M IN!" The three said unanimously. They crouched at the starting line.
Raven raised her hand. "On your marks...get set...go."
Her cape blew in the wind as they sped off. "No chores huh? Maybe I should have participated."
Cyborg led the pack, followed by Starfire, the Beast Boy then Robin who brought up the rear.
"Dudes! Run like you stole something!" The speed on the team increased. Robin, however, stayed at a steady pace, knowing exactly what was coming.
When he got a few laps in, he passed Beast Boy who was huffing. "Wait up guys...we're gonna beat him..."
"Not in this life Beast Boy!" He laughed.
"Dude! No! I hate chores!" He tried to catch up, but his endurance hadn't been tested in a while.
A few more laps and he passed Cyborg who had a not so pleasant look on his face. "What's wrong, Cy?"
"Low. Fricken. Battery." Then he got a small grin. "At least I'm beating the shrunken hulk."
"Do you need to go in and charge?"
"Nah, I can finish the race. Just as long as I don't push it."
"Okay...see you at the finish line!" He took off running.
All that was left was Starfire. She was the one he worried about. Super alien strength and endurance...but she flew most of the time, so maybe if he could catch up with her, he could over take her...or distract her. As he rounded the corner, he saw her thick ponytail swishing back and forth. Target sighted.
"Hey beautiful!" He shouted.
She jumped at his voice and realized that he was catching up to her. "Hello dear Robin! Have you enjoyed eating dirt?"
"It's 'eat my dust'."
"Close enough."
"You know, as long as Cyborg and Beast Boy don't catch up to us, we don't have to race each other."
"Oh but Robin, that would be mutiny."
"You guys plotted against me? Oh, that hurts." Then he got a sly look over his face. "If that's the way it's going to be..." He hooked her waist and pulled her in for a short kiss.
"See ya at the finish line Star!"
She swooned for a moment until she realized it was a dirty trick. But by then, he had passed her and was on his final lap. "You are the cheater!" She hollered.
A mischievous chuckle echoed back.
At the finish line, Robin had finished the race a minute before Star, five minutes before Cyborg, and fifteen before Beast Boy.
"What happened to your inner animal? You know, able to survive in the wild for an extended amount of time?"
He heaved. "My inner animal is hibernating!"
"So you know what that means Beast Boy," Raven chimed in. "Make sure to use Tide for darks when washing my capes."
He let out a dog like whimper.
"Phew! That was fun, but I'm sweating like crazy!" Robin said as he peeled off his shirt. Then he ran and jumped in the bay.
"Where does that guy get his energy from?"
"Probably steroids."
"Raven, you are sure our friend is alright?"
"He's perfectly fine...he's just changed a lot."
"I've never seen him so happy...it's kind of creepy."
"Agreed."
"But would you rather have him happy or super serious and not the 'fun'?"
They mulled it over for a moment and decided that star was right. Maybe this change was for the best. To them, it looked like he had totally forgotten what had happened two months ago. Except for the giant scars across his chest and back.
It was dark outside. Many of the titans had retired to bed. But a certain black haired hero was still at work. He was at the punching bag, pounding on it in time with his heart. Left, right...left, right...left, right. He had kept of that tempo as he focused on the bag swinging. The more he concentrated, the farther he could make the bag swing; The harder he could send the criminal backwards. He chewed on his lower lip as his eyebrow furrowed in concentration. Ba-bum...ba-bum...ba-bum. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead.
Two gentle hands rested on his shoulders. "Is this true? Are you really taller than me?"
He turned quickly in surprise only to meet her equally surprised face...a few inches lower than his. "When did this happen?"
There was no reason for them to have noticed before. Whenever they walked somewhere together, Star normally floated a few inches from the ground.
He smiled and placed his taped hands at her waist. "Is that a bad thing?"
"Most definitely not! You are getting much stronger...and larger." She ran her fingers up his bare chest and draped her arms around his neck.
"You're not as innocent as you look."
"Why Richard, why would you say such a thing?" She whispered right before connecting her lips to his. "I'm merely pointing out that you are no longer The Boy Wonder, but The Man Wonder."
He snorted. "Somehow, I don't think I should change my title to that...but I understand what you meant."
She hummed in reply as she trailed her fingers over the scars that marred his skin. He closed his eyes and fell into the sensations. Her touch grazed his cheek and lips, his nose and his eyebrow, until her digits dove into his short hair. "Are you going to style it much the same?"
"No...I think I'll grow it out."
A sudden look of excitement came over her face as she hugged him. "Glorious!"
"It's late Star."
She pulled away with a pout. "You are still up."
"And I'll go to bed too, okay?"
She smiled and dragged him from the training room.
With a kiss, he bade her goodnight and returned to his own room. As the hot water of the shower rained down, the soreness of his muscles began to set in. By time he was dressed for bed, he was barely able to stand from exhaustion. He collapsed on his mattress, flopping like a fish. His muscles ached and his fingers throbbed. He looked across his room at the items waiting for him on his desk. The pain would all the worth it tomorrow. It was a new day, and the beginning of a new hero.
Nightwing.
FIN