Beyond Titans (ONC Entry - Teen Titans/Young Justice Fanfic)

Face to Face

Silence was the response to what he said rather than violence, yet Robin felt as if he were eight again, his stomach churning, his body going into a definite panic mode. His legs and arms twitched against the bindings which tied him to the chair, yet he felt bile rise in his throat while he fought not throwing up the content of his stomach. He took a few deep breaths, though this did nothing to settle his nerves. Instead, he found himself becoming angrier and angrier.

The fact he felt angry at someone who was in fact family did nothing regarding the churning of his stomach, yet he gritted his teeth and did his best to glare at the man. Only, the reaction he got was obvious amusement. Robin took a few deep breaths, keeping up the Batglare as he looked at the person, not wanting to remember how John used to look at him the same way, or more of, his mind said amusement was the look under the mask, as a few of the body ticks matched the way John used to move.

A crackling sound was heard, making Slade let out a deep sigh. "Hold on a second." He lifted a walkie talkie up to his ear, then stood up, Slade's voice grating on Robin's nerves. "I really hate working alone. I am going to go out and see what's going on."

A shiver ran down Robin's spine. In the back of his mind, he wanted to believe his friends could handle themselves against someone like Slade, yet he'd heard quite a few nightmarish stories regarding Slade – the real Slade. His eyes closed, yet he hoped they could hold their own against him without anyone getting hurt, or worse, killed. He started engaging the place around him, taking in the fact he felt warm, the storage container having heated up.

His belt was also missing, the familiar weight not there.

Mentally, he cursed himself for not noticing sooner, for letting himself get distracted by the revelation regarding Slade. The man didn't remove his gloves, which meant he could use one of the tools kept hidden. Again, he cursed himself for not thinking of the small blade which could cut through the robes sooner. "Aster. I'd be a lot closer to helping everyone, but..." He paused, a thought crossing his mind which definitely hurt. "This is my fault. They're in trouble because he's after me."

Taking a deep breath, he continued filing away at the rope, when the door of the storage container opened. Robin's eyes blinked, sweat having started down his skin from the heat likely caused by the sun beating down on the container all day. A woman stepped into the room – a woman he couldn't see the face of. She moved closer, bending over so she might look him in the face.

"You're Robin, right?"

"Who..." Robin's eyes narrowed, her face seeming familiar, his mind jumping quickly to the time he spent with his family. He remembered following John and his girlfriend around, neither one annoyed with the presence of an eight-year-old, making him feel welcome. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped. "Wait."

"I'm..."

"Anna. You're Anna." The words he spoke were in Romani, which probably caught her off guard as much as hearing him say her name – the name he knew her by. Her eyes blinked, she pulled back as he continued speaking in Romani. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for startling you. John, John Grayson..."

"Stop." She slowly got down on her level. "You shouldn't know that name. Not unless..."

"I'm Dick Grayson." The words continued pouring out of his mouth, knowing she and she alone would understand him. "He's Slade. Slade is John."

Her eyes opened and closed. "Wait. Are you little bird?"

"I..." The realization hit hard. He slipped back into English. "I shouldn't have said that. Any of that. Batman..." He felt her hand against his cheek, his eyes closing at the coolness of her touch.

"Good grief. You're burning up." Her next words surprised him. "I thought you were dead."

"Why? Why did you..."

"They said there was only one survivor."

"Uncle Richard" He slipped back into Romani, mentally aching for a familiar if not sane connection with his family. "Uncle Richard is the one who survived the fall. I don't know why..." His eyes opened. "I don't know why..."

"So you weren't..." She let out a sigh of relief, continuing to speak Romani as well. "Let's get you out of here, baby bird." She paused, looking at him. "The name you chose..."

"I, yes." Robin swallowed. "Slade. I don't want him to hurt the others. It's my fault..."

"Stop. It's not your fault. Let me get these binds off you."

"I'm trying to cut..."

"Don't worry." Anna stood up. "And the name I go by is Zatanna."

"Wait." Robin's eyes blinked. "You're a league member. More specifically, you're the daughter of..."

"Yup." She stood up."Sepor, emoc esool."

Robin's eyes blinked, feeling the ropes loosen, then he said, "I togrof ruoy slleps evlovni gniyas sdrow sdrawkcab."

A laugh came from her mouth. "I togrof you desu ot kaeps sdrawkcab ta em nehw uoy erew regnuoy. I ma dalg uoy era evila."

Robin rubbed his arms, moving his legs slightly, taking a deep breath before standing up. He found himself unable to look her in the eye, knowing full well he'd blabbed his secret identity, breaking one of Batman's rules. Taking another deep breath, he smiled at her. "Well, I guess I'll just have to have Batman chew me out for that later."

"For what?"

"For..." Robin swallowed, still feeling guilty and still feeling like it was his fault despite the fact Zatanna said otherwise.

"She said something about how Batman won't like the fact you gave away your identity."

"Yes, well..." One of Robin's eyebrows shot up. "Wait? Who?"

"Raven."

"She must be the girl who tried warning...." Robin looked at the ground. "The fact it's Slade – it explains his interest in me. I mean, the fact he's Slade explains it."

"How is he alive?"

"He doesn't know."

"Yes, well..." Zatanna let out a sigh. "Raven would like permission to connect you with herself and everyone else."

"I'm not sure..."

"She can connect the conversation to specific individuals if you want, but she is worried about you."

Robin took a deep breath. "Okay. She can connect with my mind. I'm okay regarding that."

"Robin?"

"Hi. You're the girl from this morning, aren't you."

"Yes. I'm sorry for connecting with your mind."

"I..." He felt far more comfortable with her connecting with her mind than Miss Martian as if that was a familiar presence, yet he shook his head. "Slade is going after everyone. However, he hired contacted him."

"That's..." Her voice paused in his head. "I didn't lose connection with any of the others, but... I see him..."

Robin heard a slamming sound. Taking a deep breath, he headed out, Zatanna going with him.