BatFamily Oneshots

First Steps

A/N Written by @Shuggie.

It had been only a couple of hours since they had all returned home.

Cyborg had reversed the polarity of Slade's machine, ridding them of the invasive probes. The Titans were all officially safe and whole once again. But Slade had gotten away. Again.

Following the big to-do that was Beast Boy and Cyborg's usual fight over the pros and cons of a carnivorous vs. vegetarian diet, Robin had excused himself from the rest of his team, retreating to the evidence room and stating very firmly that he wanted some time to himself. He hadn't needed to see his friends' faces as he retreated to know that they would be worried and put off. But as Robin stood in the middle of his evidence room, the only light that from the examining table's lamp, he couldn't bring himself to care.

For the past couple of days he had been blackmailed into apprenticeship with Slade. Just the mere thought of the man made the Boy Wonder's blood boil in ways that few other villains had. The man was his Lex Luthor, his Joker. More Luthor, if he actually had to compare them, because really, Slade was no Joker. No one compared to the Joker.

Apprenticeship, Robin thought with a snarl, his eyes gleaming as he glared at the articles pinned to the wall that focused on the criminal. It was an assault to everything Robin stood for, being forced to betray and harm his friends. Robin wanted to do so much more than break the villain's mask in half. He wanted to make him hurt. He wanted it almost as much as he had once wanted to get his hands on Tony Zucco.

The most logical portion of his mind had reminded him over and over that it all wasn't his fault, that he had been powerless once Slade had revealed what his machine had done to the other Titans. But the rest of him was still appalled that he had gone along with the madman, that he had betrayed them. Robin's shoulders slumped. He would do it again, he knew. He would do it all over again, the fighting, the stealing, if it would keep them from being killed.

There was suddenly a knock on the door, echoing loudly in his otherwise silent room. His eyes narrowed under the reflective lenses of his mask. "Not now," he said, loud enough to be heard through the door. He tried to keep the bitter emotion from his voice, but some leaked through.

"Robin," came the shy voice on the other side of the thick metal. Starfire. Instantly, Robin felt guilty all over again. He had hurt her, hurt them all.

"Friend, please," she called when he didn't answer. His default reaction was to yell, to demand that she leave him alone, to go away so that there wasn't anything he could do that would hurt her the way he had done just hours before.

Through gritted teeth, he said, "I need to be alone."

"There is a call for you," Starfire said insistently. "A man in a dark mask. I told him that you did not wish to be disturbed and to please call back some other time, but Cyborg and Beast Boy are both very insistent that you should answer this call. They seem concerned. I believe he may be some manner of villain—oh!"

She jumped just a bit as his door slid open. "He's no villain," Robin said, expression hard. Starfire took a step back, her exotic green eyes wide. "I'll be in my room."

The short walk up the stairs to the living corridors of the Tower wasn't nearly long enough for Robin to mentally prepare himself to take this call. He berated himself. He should have seen it coming. Of course the man would know something was going on. He always knew. Stepping up to the monitor in his room, Robin drew in a deep breath. He turned on the screen, which was split. "I've got it, guys," he said, voice guarded. The image of his friends' concerned faces disappeared as the call was patched through and the security and privacy codes activated.