Traumatized

A True Hero

Two years later......

Dick smiled as Artemis walked into his room, and he laughed as Jason ran away screaming from disgust as Barbra's laughter echoed through the walls from the hallway outside of his door. Artemis was smirking proudly, and he saw the glint of accomplishment in her eyes.

"Do I even want to know what you had Babs tell my little brother, or am I just gonna have to suffer his wrath later?" He asked her once he caught his breath, and she chuckled. "I have no idea what your girlfriend told your little brother, I only asked her to keep him distracted so that I could speak with you in private before the three of us head over to the cave." She told him, and Dick knew she was being honest so he shook his head in exasperation.

"Oh great, I am gonna be murdered in my sleep by my baby brother." He said in a fake deadpanned tone, and Artemis snorted. "You are such a drama queen!" She exclaimed as she sat down next to him on his bed, and he smiled cheekily at her. "You'd think that age would knock that habit out of you, but all growing up has seemed to do is make your flair for dramatics so much worse."

Dick cackled at that, and Artemis laughed with him, before she turned serious and he immediately quieted up.

"Dick, it's been two years since your recovery really started and an entire year since Leslie cleared you for training and light patrols. You've been in remission for over two years, and we've all been anxious for you to return to the team. Garfield, Tula, and Garth have been dying to meet you ever since they learned that you've been out of the action for a few years. Heck, even Rocket and Zatanna are dying for you to get back to the cave. They haven't even seen you since school started up after you entered remission, and they wanted to get to know you more now that you're not dying." She said, and Dick froze before realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Damit Jason," he muttered, before he sighed and turned to face his big sister. "Artemis, I don't know what exactly it is Jason told you, because not even he knows the full truth yet." He began, but Artemis angrily glared at him with tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "oh, so I guess that his supposedly temporary position as Robin on our team suddenly becoming a permanent thing is just a lie?!? Or the fact that you're not coming back is just some kind of hoax?!?" She asked him, and Dick sighed before he quickly hugged his sister's torso tightly.

"No, that is true. But, I'm not leaving the team." He told her, and Artemis began to shake from her emotions. "How can you still be on the team if your little brother is Robin? Dick, we can't have two Robins on the team." She told him and Dick pulled back and smiled sadly at his sister, for she'd frozen and her eyes had gone wide as realization crashed into her.

"You-you're not gonna be Robin anymore," she breathed and he nodded his head at that. "Bingo," he said before he sighed and looked down at his lap.

"Artemis, I became Robin when I was nine years old to help Bruce catch the man who murdered my family. Robin helped me heal, and I will always be Robin. It's a part of me and a part of my family's memory, but I can't go back to being Robin. Not after everything that I've been through," he began, and Artemis sat quietly next to him as he took a deep breath.

"Robin is supposed to be the light to Batman's darkness, supposed to be this innocent figure to help stop the cruel world of crime here in Gotham. But, Robin can't always be the same after his wings get clipped.

I-I have been through so much pain and faced so many hardships in my life, and I'm not exactly the same kid I was before Failsafe. I never want to end up like my Tati, but I still wanna be a hero that Tati can be proud of. But, because I have more darkness and pain in my soul now that I've survived, it's time for me to become someone else.