Titans: Rise of Talon

Never Give Up

A/N: 4K VIEWS?! Thank you guys so much! That really means a lot to me.
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03:27 PDT
December 1st
Titans Tower

  
   The heroes had found a disturbing number of cameras spread throughout the city, making everyone feel unease, and none of them were completely sure they got them all.

   They had been searching the city and surrounding countryside for hours, until one by one they had to stop and sleep before they crashed, literally and figuratively. The only one still awake was the Dark Knight himself.

   He hadn't left his post at the Titans' giant computer except to investigate potential crime scenes or the occasional cup of coffee. He refused to stop, knowing that every second he delayed was a second longer that his son had to spend with a ruthless psychopath.

   Batman curled one of his hands into a fist. Of course, he understood why Robin hadn't told him about his deep rivalry with Deathstroke. He was the Joker to Robin's Batman, his arch nemesis, but there were stark differences. Slade was sane and intelligent on a terrifying level that rivaled his own skill. A mere whisper on the tongues of the underworld, Deathstroke was sometimes considered to be Batman's evil reflection.

   But the mercenary's reputation wasn't what he needed to understand. It was his fascination with his protégé. Why did Slade take such a strong interest in Dick? The Titans had said he was once blackmailed into being the man's apprentice, and Batman found the files Robin had stowed away to prove it. He was mildly surprised by the levels of encryption the teen had placed on them, and he suspected it was to keep his teammates from coming across them. However, even after he was able to hack the file, he could tell that many details from the event had been omitted.

     Deathstroke wanted to turn Dick to his side, mold him into a carbon copy of himself. It would deal a heavy blow to, not only Batman, but the Justice League as a whole. Robin was the light to his darkness and a beam of hope in a despairing city, as well as the surrogate nephew to many of the founding members of the League. If Robin could be turned, it would deal a huge blow to heroes everywhere. Most would believe that such a thing would be impossible, but Batman knew better.

   Robin had built his own reputation during his years in Gotham. Tricks he had learned in the circus had followed him into the vigilante life, the most infamous yet least broadcasted being his ability to knife-throw.

    Robin was loyal to a fault, which brought out a ruthless streak should someone ever deal an especially heavy blow to Batman. He may have saved Tony Zucco from falling all those years ago, but that didn't mean he would go easy on anyone threatening his family. He literally had to drag the boy kicking and screaming from the still body of Joker after he killed Ja—.

   Batman shook his head and continued deftly typing at the computer. He didn't have time to recall how Robin almost broke the oath he swore when he first became a hero, or how tense things grew between them during the following months.

   He had to focus on the problem at hand. The trackers in his suit didn't work because he hadn't been wearing it when he was taken, yet his belt was missing. However, the GPS transmitter built into it had somehow been either turned off or destroyed. That left only one other option.

   Batman opened up another window and activated a sequence he had hoped he would never have to.

    "What're you doin'?" Beast Boy slurred as he stumbled into the main room.

    "I could ask you the same question," he retorted, cowled eyes never leaving the screen. He was sure that no one would be up before dawn.

   "Couldn't sleep," the shapeshifter and yawned, "What's all those numbers and maps?"