Into the Depths – Chapter Five

Chapter Five
Among the Trained

April 28th, 2009. Tuesday, 10:08 am.

“I refuse.”

“Come on, Dad, please?”

“I’m telling you, boy, I refuse.”

“But we need you,” pleaded Dick, pulling his most sincere tone he could into his voice.

There was a snort.

“I honestly can’t believe you’ve been planning this for a week and you just now decide to spring it on me. I don’t think it’s a good idea. And at any rate, your friends still haven’t quite gotten used to me.”

“What, you’re not afraid to come, are you?”

There was silence on the phone. Dick grinned to himself as he heard the man draw a deep breath there on the other line. The following words were said with careful precision.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then, you should have no problem coming, now should you?”

The conversation between Dick and his reluctant father had been going on for quite a few minutes. Dick knew his victory in convincing the man was near and he continued to plow forth valiantly. He knew Slade didn’t think this was a good idea, but Dick believed it was. The Titans needed the man’s expertise. Slade had so much to offer them and if the plan went through, then it would be the first time that Slade made his presence known at the Tower.

It wasn’t that the Titans weren’t aware of Slade’s presence in Dick’s life now. They knew that Slade was a father to him. They knew that the man had given up everything to be just that. They also knew how much Dick needed the man in his life. They had visited his home twice since he had come back to the Titans, but they honestly avoided Slade whenever they could. They accepted the fact that Dick wanted the man in his life, but they certainly didn’t make any efforts to have the man in their lives.

And Dick was going to change that.

Slade had much to offer the Titans. Dick had already been planning on getting Slade’s help with the training schedule that he had created for his team, but he hadn’t known when he wanted to start. Terra was the perfect reason to set his plans into motion. She wasn’t as skilled as the other Titans. Nor was she skilled in using her powers. Training with Slade could help her gain the right kind of edge on them. Not to mention, the Titans could great benefit from such knowledge, too.

“Did you do the dishes like I told you to?”

Dick had to bite back a giggle. “Don’t change the subject, Dad.”

“Well, did you?”

Dick sighed, shaking his head. “I did them this morning before I called you.”

“You’re such a mischievous imp, you know that, right?” said Slade, his amused tone fully apparent there. Dick only smiled.

“So you’ve said before. Come on, Dad. The Titans need you. We bow down to your all awesome power and amazingness.”

There was a low snorting sound that soon melded into highly amused chuckles. Dick couldn’t hold back his own smile as he heard the man laughing.

“You’re really laying it on thick, aren’t you, boy?”

“Anything to get you to come. Really, Dad. I need you to see what each of us are lacking and help us overcome it. We need to grow individually as well as a team and you’re good at finding our weak points.”

There was a low sigh. Silence soon followed it.

“So, you’ll be here in ten minutes, right?”

“Hold up, I haven’t agreed. And anyway, you know it’s a good twenty to twenty-five minutes to get to the Tower, boy,” drawled Slade, sounding somewhat annoyed and grouchy at the thought.

“Make it here in ten minutes, Dad. Wear workout clothes, would you?”

There was an exasperated sigh on the other line. Dick could only grin wider.

“Fine. I shall do this. Ruin my image further, will you, child? But beware, for when I show up, you’re in for a swat, you impudent, pushy little brat.”

There was the undeniable sound of teasing in the man’s tone.

“Love you, too, Dad.”

There was a snorting sound before the call ended. Dick flexed his shoulders, still unable to wipe the grin from off his face. Yup, he was officially excited now. He was sure his friends would take awhile to get used to Slade, but once they warmed up, they were sure to realize that Slade was different now. They just needed to see it more. He wasn’t that old criminal. He was just a man and he was just a father – nothing more and nothing less.

But it meant everything in the world to Dick.

Dick clapped his hands together. They were currently outside on the training ground of the island. There were numerous large rocks and stones in the area. Hidden beneath many of the boulders were machines of an obstacle course. The Titans were assuming that this was going to be their training today.

Well, they were wrong.

Dick had a plan. He knew that they were a decent team. They could handle themselves quite well with a common criminal. However, what if they were faced with someone as powerful as Deathstroke? If a criminal of that level came against them, they would fall. No amount of ‘good guy vs. bad guy’ could change that fact. Dick had learned that all too well the past year. If Slade had truly been after them as a group, they would’ve been destroyed. Even some of the Gotham villains would be troublesome for the Teen Titans.

Thus, they needed some specialized training. Dick knew that his father excelled in combat of multiple forms. Dick hoped that he could help his friends learn new fighting art forms that could be used in harmony with their powers. Slade had that perfect eye of seeing what you were doing wrong during a fight and then just how to correct it. Dick had spent months under Slade’s constant training; thus, he knew how good a teacher the man was.

His friends needed to experience this.

The other four Titans and potential ‘Titan in training’ were sitting on the ground, waiting for the day’s events to begin. Terra was the only one who was looking nervous between the group. She was clasping her hands and unclasping them. Her hair kept falling into her face, and every once and awhile, she would tuck it behind her ear.

“All right, gang,” began Dick, clapping his hands together once again. “I’ve got a treat for us today.”

Those words were quite effective over the group – at least for the boys. Starfire always looked excited about everything; Raven was just Raven; and Terra still looked nervous.

“What kind of treat?” asked Beast Boy, his pointed ears perking upwards.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” said Dick with a happy smirk.

“Aww…”

“Also, the one who does the best gets their choice of what movie we watch tonight and first choice of pizza.”

That fired up the boys beyond measure. Cyborg let out his trademark ‘booyah!’ while Beast Boy whooped in the air. Both of them began stretching vigorously and commenced in telling the other that he was going down in one elaborate fashion or another.

Dick smiled. He knew that the excitement of this wouldn’t last for long once they knew who they had to train with. Ah, well.

Dick turned his glance to Terra. He could see the nervousness that she was emanating. There was an uncertainty about her whole stance and Dick could feel it. He felt that if he wasn’t forthcoming with the girl, then she wouldn’t be either. What he was about to do would be the first step with ensuring her position in the group. Dick truly felt that she had no other place to go. Not to mention, she would make a good addition to their team.

Once he did this, he would confront her after training. He would find out what she really wanted with them. But in the meantime, he would take the first step. It was a risky move. He knew it. But he was going to do it anyway.

“Terra,” began Dick, squaring his shoulders and standing tall. He took a deep breath. This is it. “I wanted to fully introduce myself to you.”

The other Titans stiffened suddenly and gave him wary looks. The two boys stopped their stretching, shocked in their stances. Cyborg’s eyes widened as Beast Boy’s ears flicked upward. Even Raven looked surprised, appearing unsettled by this news. Starfire glanced between the group, looking slightly confused. Dick lifted his hand to his face and clasped the edge of his mask, but was halted by Cyborg as he quickly spoke up; his nervousness fully apparent in his tone.

“Wait, Rob, are you sure you want to do that? I mean…”

There was a quiet pause between the group as Dick’s friends watched him with uncertain expressions. There was a moment where his heart wavered once. Was this the right choice? Dick couldn’t know for sure. But truly… he did feel that this was the path he should follow. He did feel that he was supposed to tell Terra his name; that he should be completely open with her.

In all honesty, he didn’t want to hide behind his mask any more. He had long abandoned that identity. He couldn’t be that boy any longer. If he tried again, Dick just might fall beneath the cracks; thus, losing all sense of his true self. That had already happened once before.

Being someone he wasn’t just couldn’t be allowed again.

“Yes, I’m sure,” answered Dick, his resolution filling his tone and reaffirming his stance. Terra glanced at the group, obviously feeling the tension that suddenly rose between them.

“Do what?”

“I’m going to tell you my true name,” said Dick, giving her a soft smile. Terra’s eyes widened. “This is an act of trust. The others don’t really have another identity. I’m the only one who hides behind a mask. Here at the Tower, though, I don’t do that any more and with your presence here, I’d rather not have to go back to that.” Dick’s smile grew. “That’s why I’m going to show you an act of trust. I hope you’ll respect it.”

Terra nodded, her eyes still wide. With strength rising inside his chest, Dick removed the barrier from his eyes and gave her an unmasked smile. It felt good to take off the mask; so different from his old self a year ago, who hadn’t been able to bear to sleep without it. He took a step forward and held out his hand.

“My name is Richard Grayson, but everyone just calls me Dick. Nice to officially meet you, Terra.”

The girl accepted his handshake, still looking extremely surprised by his actions. Cyborg looked the most uneasy out of the other four Titans. Since he was the oldest, he knew the consequences should Terra decide to turn around and use that knowledge against Dick.

But Dick felt that she wouldn’t use this information against him. There was something suspicious about the girl, yes. However, somehow Dick just knew she wouldn’t sell out his identity. Why or how he knew, Dick wasn’t sure. It was just a feeling inside his heart. It was like that moment his heart knew he could trust Slade’s word.

It was just a special feeling, one he couldn’t describe, nor one he could grasp. It hadn’t really been logical, yet he had just known. That was exactly how he just knew that Terra had a good heart.

“All right, in about fifteen minutes or so, the surprise will be here. So, I suggest we stretch while we wait, because training starts right when the surprise comes!”

Thus, the six teens went about their stretching exercises. There was a lot of speculation about what the surprise would be and Dick was heavily amused by it all. Raven alone seemed to know what it truly was – well, really, it didn’t take a lot of thinking to figure it out. But only Raven was that sharp. Dick was thankful she didn’t say anything about it, however. It would’ve caused some contention, that was for sure.

Not that contention was unavoidable…

As Dick stretched with his friends, he kept his attention to the ocean; watching for when that boat would sail. He felt fidgety and nervous, even with his excitement. He was worried about the approaching argument that would no doubt occur once the man arrived. He hoped that a full out war wouldn’t happen over the man instructing them.

This should be… interesting.

It was a few minutes later when Dick caught sight of the boat coming near Titans Tower. Truly, Dick must’ve looked like a child on Christmas morning when he saw that boat. Raven kept throwing him a raised eyebrow, but he shrugged and gave her a bright grin – in the which, she’d roll her eyes and shake her head at him.

Finally, Dick couldn’t hold back the broad smile that spread over his face as he saw the boat dock. It was going to crack his face – there was no doubt about that. Containing his childlike excitement was like asking the sun to stop rising with each new day.

He enjoyed training a lot with Slade – more so now that he wasn’t going to be forced as an apprentice to a mercenary. However, this was a revolutionary moment in time. Slade was here on the island, at Titans Tower, as a guest; as a trainer; as a mentor; as a master of what he did. A year ago, it would’ve been a cross between an unimaginable and blissful dream to a frightening and horrific nightmare. Now, it was merely an amazing reality. It made Dick’s heart glow with pure joy.

But he knew it would only last for a few moments of peace before the animosity set in.

And he was right.

“Slade?” hissed Cyborg, as he glanced at the dock. The unmistakable form of Slade was currently beginning the trek up the dirt pathway. “What’s he doing here?” There was a discontented pause, as the others looked in the direction Cyborg was talking about. Then, a dawning realization flooded through the older teen’s features. “That’s the surprise? Him?”

“Pretty much,” replied Dick with a shrug, hoping that that this whole thing would blow over easily.

As if.

“That’s not a surprise. That’s a nightmare!”

“What? What’s wrong?” asked Terra, glancing between the group. Unfortunately, her words were set upon deaf ears.

“I am not training with him,” said Cyborg, the displeasure and loathing prevalent in his tone. The happiness that had been rising inside Dick’s heart suddenly vanished. He knew it’d be difficult to do this, but he hadn’t realized it’d be this difficult.

“Cy, he has a lot to offer this team,” said Dick, gently trying to convince the older boy. “He’s a good teacher and he’s willing to teach us. There’s nothing bad with—”

“Nothing bad?” repeated Cyborg incredulously, his human eye flashing with anger, while his inhuman one seemed to glow with a harsher red. “Are you forgetting who he is?”

Dick stiffened. “I’ve never forgotten.”

“Please, friends,” began Starfire, lifting her hands into the air with placating kindness. Her voice had an element of peace, but it, too, was falling on deaf ears. “We must not fight about this. I am sure that Dick has a very good reason to bring Slade here. Surely we can—”

“Look, Star, I get that you can be nice to everyone and forgive everyone, since you’re so kind,” said Cyborg, the derision dripping through his tone – yet, there was a sincerity to his compliments. “But I haven’t forgotten what he’s done; and I’m not just gonna let him come here and act like everything is fine.”

“Why wouldn’t everything be fine?” asked Terra, trying again.

She was, sadly, ignored again.

“Everything is fine,” insisted Dick, his hands slowly beginning to clench into fists at his sides. “Why can’t you see that?”

“Because there’s nothing to see!”

“Enough!” snapped Raven, making the entire group flinch from the sharpness of her tone. “I honestly don’t see the problem here. We shouldn’t be fighting about something so trivial.”

“Trivial?” demanded Cyborg hotly. “But—”

“Robin is here,” said Raven, her voice low, yet carrying a powerful air. “He is safe. There are no more problems. We shouldn’t be making up issues that have been resolved for a month now.”

Cyborg let out a huff, folding his arms and glaring out at the ocean. Beast Boy’s ears were drooping sadly as he looked between the two boys. Terra looked as confused as ever and even a little miffed at being ignored for so long. But it was obviously a bit bigger than her. Dick sighed, wishing that everything would be all right already.

It hurt.

It honestly hurt.

He had thought that Cyborg was at least civil about the subject of Slade, but it seemed that the older teen had been allowing hard feelings to fester. Would Cyborg ever not hate Slade?

Luckily, Dick didn’t have long to wallow in the tension at the moment, because Slade finally walked up the pathway toward them. He stopped, once he came to Dick’s side. For a moment, the man observed him with a raised eyebrow. Dick was truly an open book when it came to being read by the man, because it was then that Slade dropped a hand onto his head and ruffled the mop of raven black hair with affection; causing a delighted, soft giggle to escape Dick’s lips. There was a narrowing of dark eyes at this, but it remained unseen.

Slade’s kind gesture relieved some of the hurt that had begun to prick Dick’s heart.

Shockingly, the man had actually done what Dick had requested. Slade was wearing a black t-shirt and light grey sweat pants. His upper arms were bare, along with his forearms; revealing a thin coating of pure white hair on his skin. It was more noticeable due to the bright sunlight that shone down on them all.

It was certainly a different picture for the Titans to see. This wasn’t the man in an immaculate, white button down collar shirt nor was this the man in pressed black slacks. This wasn’t the man in an intimidating Kevlar suit nor was this the man in a mask of mystery.

This was just a man in workout clothes, who looked more than an expert with those prominent muscles displayed clearly. Slade’s arm muscles weren’t abnormally large, however. His overall look did produce power. This wasn’t a man to be trifled with – there was no doubt about that.

Slade instantly could tell there was tension in the group – Dick could see it in the man’s expression. Slade raised an eyebrow as he glanced over the teens. Then, he rested his ‘I told you this wouldn’t be a good idea’ smirk onto Dick, who shrugged and just gave him a happy smile.

It was going to work, one way or another – Dick was going to make sure of it.

“Thanks for coming, Dad,” whispered Dick. Slade only gave him a soft smile. The joy of having Slade – his father – here at the Tower was nearly overwhelming. Dick couldn’t help the broad grin that was threatening to literally break his face. His cheeks were beginning to hurt.

It was a good thing.

“So, you guys know… Slade,” said Dick, giving the man a weak wave in a gesture; actually feeling strange with calling the man by his name. Funny how much things had changed. This man wasn’t just ‘Slade’ any more. He was ‘Dad’. The expression he received from this statement was comical. But he continued on anyway, “Terra, this is my father, Slade Wilson.”

Slade inclined his head briefly. Terra’s eyes slowly took in the intimidating man. Well, Dick had to admit, Slade could be pretty scary and daunting when he wanted to be so. Somehow, Dick had gotten used to that, though.

Then, Slade’s eye glanced between Dick and Terra, before it slowly began to widen, as if he were just noticing something.

“Dick, where’s your mask?” asked Slade in a low voice, that grey blue eye still taking in the two of them, before resting on eye contact with Dick. There was a growing unsettled feeling that was beginning to emanate from the man.

“Oh, I took it off.”

That unsettled feeling that Slade had been giving off suddenly escalated. He pulled Dick away by putting an arm around his shoulders; firmly, yet gently guiding him apart from the others. There was an intense glare from Cyborg at the sight of that. Once they were a small distance from the group, Slade leaned down to Dick’s hearing level.

“Who is this child?” asked Slade quietly, so that the others couldn’t hear them. Dick sighed, unable to keep a small amount of testiness out of his voice.

“I told you, Dad. That’s Terra. She’s going to be the newest member of the Teen Titans.”

A hand pinched Dick’s ear, making him wince at the stern expression from his father. He never could get away with anything when this man was around. The firm hand let go of his ear.

“Be respectful, young man. You’ve never spoken about her.”

“She’s the girl I mentioned yesterday,” began Dick, trying to indiscreetly rub his ear. “You know, the one we just met.”

“Yesterday?” hissed Slade, his expression turning to anger; the light in his grey blue eye sparking furiously. “You met her yesterday and you’ve already brought her into your group? Not only that, you showed her your identity?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Idiot boy!” snapped Slade, his tone rising as he grabbed Dick by the shoulders, nearly shaking him once. This raised voice gained them glances from the Titans. Dick felt his face flush from the man’s incensed tone.

“Da-a-ad,” whispered Dick, drawing out the man’s name as his eyes darted to his friends; feeling the embarrassment rise up inside his chest. His cheeks heated up at their stares. “Keep your voice down, will ya?”

“I thought you were more intelligent than this,” said Slade, hissing underneath his breath as he glared at Dick. The man’s hands squeeze his flesh firmly. “I thought you knew not to be free with that kind of information.”

“I know—”

“Yet, you did it anyway.” As Dick was about to voice his further protests, Slade put up a warning hand. “This is serious, Dick. You don’t know anything about that girl. She could very well be an enemy.”

“She’s not!”

“You don’t know that,” said Slade, his tone turning sharper. “You only know what you see and only what she tells you. You aren’t this naive normally.”

“I’m not being naive!” snapped Dick, forgetting that they were still gaining an audience. “I knew it was a risk, but I needed to do this for Terra. I felt that were something off with her and—”

Slade raised his hand yet again, the anger rising in his indomitable eye. The man’s nostrils flared and Dick wondered if he had pushed him too far. For a moment, Slade took a deep breath, letting it out softly. His jaw clenched as his Adam’s apple contracted with a light swallow.

“Are you telling me,” began Slade, each word drawing out slowly; the restrained anger in his eye widening further. “That you are suspicious of this girl, and you still told her your most important and guarded secret?”

Dick was suddenly overcome with the realization that Slade thought he had done something very wrong. He’d known the man would be displeased with his decision, but he hadn’t realized Slade would be this livid about it. Suddenly, the choice to tell Terra his real name didn’t seem like such a good idea. But something inside his heart had told him that he needed to do so. Surely it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Right?

This was Slade – of course, it was a big deal.

Swallowing nervously, Dick said weakly, meekness flowing through his whispered voice, “Uhm… yes?”

Instantly, Slade grabbed Dick by the underarm and dragged him away from the group, fully ignoring his quiet and frantic protests. Dick glanced back nervously at the other Titans to see Cyborg’s eyes narrow darkly, the irritation fully prevalent across his features. Beast Boy own eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his face, while Starfire appeared thoroughly confused about what was happening – as did Terra – and perhaps even a bit confused. And Raven… Well, Raven was Raven.

Dick couldn’t escape as he was pulled further away.

Once they were out of the sight of the others, the high boulders hiding them from view, Dick suddenly jerked to the side in a panic – just in time to avoid the sharp, reprimanding hand of Slade from connecting with his backside. It was actually downright comical because of the extent in the angle his body arched to avoid its dangerous path – well, only comical if there hadn’t been a threat of it attempting a second go around.

Therefore, it wasn’t that funny to Dick.

“Whoa, Dad! They’ll hear you,” whispered Dick, his tone panicked and his heart pounding in his chest. That had been close. However, the man still maintained his firm grip on Dick’s underarm.

“I cannot believe you are seriously telling me that you’re suspicious of this girl and you still made the choice to tell her! How is this not insane?!” hissed Slade, completely ignoring him and preparing to aim once more. Dick quickly grabbed that dangerous and ominous hand in desperation with his own free hand. The glare that bore down on him was withering and chilling – enough to send shivers down anyone self respecting person’s spine – but Dick was determined to maintain some dignity in this whole thing.

“Dad, please, not here!”

“How could you be so foolish?” demanded Slade, attempting to pull his hand away. “I’m shocked at you. How dare you put your life at risk!”

“But Dad—”

“Hold still.”

“Dad, listen to me!” cried Dick, clutching Slade’s hand even harder; now more in the act of making his father hear him out, instead avoiding a reprimand. – although, he was attempting to avoid that, too, if at all possible. “Please, would you just listen for a minute?”

There was a light growl inside Slade’s throat. There was a pause as Slade continued to stare down at him – more like glare – until he completely removed himself from Dick’s grasp; releasing his arm as well. The man crossed his arms sternly in front of his chest, drawing up on his full height.

“Sixty seconds. Go.”

Sixty seconds?! Way to be patient, Dad.

“I know it sounds crazy,” began Dick, trying to say his piece, but with the way the man was glaring down at him, his thoughts were jumbling together worse than a tumbling pile of clothes in a laundry mat. “But I know Terra has a good heart. Somehow, I just know she won’t sell out my identity.”

“You… just… know?” repeated Slade slowly, drawing out each word with overflowing incredulity in his tone.

“Well, yeah,” finished Dick, honestly feeling a bit lame now. Whenever this man dissected his actions, he always felt exposed to the stupidity of his choices. It wasn’t fair. His intentions had been in the right place. There was no reason for Slade to get so upset by this.

All such previous thoughts escaped Dick’s brain as there was another furious glare from his father.

“Are you hearing yourself?” snapped Slade, his voice hissing slightly in his irritation. “Are you not hearing the pure idiocy here?”

“Dad, please…”

Slade let out an exasperated groan that was mixed with a heavy sigh. He put a hand onto his forehead, slowly bringing it down over his face, until he tugged onto the fur that grew on his chin in the form of a white goatee.

“I cannot believe your immaturity on this matter,” said Slade, his tone soft, yet still with a touch of frustration. “I know you’re only fifteen and male – thus, bound to make poor decisions in judgment – but I still expected more from you, being who you are.”

Well, that certainly bruised Dick’s ego. Not to mention, he could feel the disappointment in the man’s tone – and that alone just made everything a lot worse. However, as the man’s words continued to sink into his mind, Dick paused; frowning heavily.

“Wait, what does being male have to do with anything?” demanded Dick, folding his arms and staring at up the man; a defiant air beginning to flow from his person without his full approval. He wasn’t about to contend the age factor at that moment. Slade let out an annoyed sigh, dragging his hand over his face yet again.

“It is common medical knowledge that females mature faster than their male counterparts,” answered Slade, his tone almost condescending as he dropped into his instructor voice.

“Hey! Are you saying I’m not mature enough to make these kinds of decisions just because I’m a boy?”

Slade gave him a salient, penetrating look.

“Think about your female team members and tell me they’re not more mature than the male members.”

Dick opened his mouth to instantly protest, before he paused. Memories flashed through his mind. A moment later, he clamped his mouth shut and gave out a grudging sigh.

“Point taken.”

Slade inclined his head pointedly. There was an awkward pause for Dick. His bit his lower lip and rubbed the palms of his hands against his sweat pants. He flicked nervous glances up at Slade to see what the man was feeling now. Slade was merely looking down at him with a scrutinizing eye. Finally, after a moment, Slade spoke up, his tone calm.

“Why are you suspicious of this girl?”

Dick could only shrug.

“Well, I thought that maybe she was the one who gave us the tip about it. It seemed too well thought out.”

“It? That fight against the giant scorpion?” asked Slade, his eyebrow raising. “The one that you said you got a little beat up?” Slade’s eye narrowed darkly at Dick’s nod. “Exactly how beat up are we talking about here? Were any of you injured at all?”

“Uh… j–just a little…” At Slade’s increasing glare, Dick gulped and continued, “I just got a little cut is all…” There was another stern ‘glare filled’ pause. “Okay, so it was a gash, but Raven healed it, so you don’t have to worry, Dad,” he added hurriedly. “Oh, and a small burn, too; and, uh… Starfire got burned as well.”

“Did you not think that this girl could be dangerous? She got you and your friend injured!” snapped Slade, his expression immediately chasing away his brief calmness. “What if that had been her plan all along? Are you truly not realizing that you could not only be putting yourself in danger, but your friends as well?!”

Dick blinked, biting his lower lip. No, he hadn’t thought about that. Why hadn’t he thought about that? It made his stomach churn at the very thought. He truly did believe he had done the right thing. He was still planning on confronting Terra about her purpose with the team. But getting injured in a battle happened all the time; thus, he hadn’t given it much thought.

But what if Slade was right?

It suddenly frightened him – which was rare when it came to something like this. Second guessing himself wasn’t something Dick was used to, but now with those logical words slipping through his mind, he was doing just that. What if he had just made a fatal mistake?

“I’m sorry,” whispered Dick, swallowing once as his lower lip trembled without his permission. “I really believed I was doing the right thing.”

That much was true. He had thought he was doing the right thing; and, in fact, a large part of his heart still believed he had made the right decision. Sometimes, what the heart knew to be right completely countered with what the mind believed to be right. However, in the end, Dick relied more on his heart than his mind – which was the opposite of what ‘Robin’ would do.

The entire basis of his newfound relationship with Slade as the man’s son could be considered illogical to the mind, but his heart fully and absolutely knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was the right thing.

There was a deep sigh.

“We will still be having a long discussion about this tonight,” said Slade, his tone sharp, yet there was a gentleness that was beginning to seep through it. Nonetheless, Dick winced at the implications of that.

“Uh… i–in my room, sir?”

There was a long inhale. A softness seemed to entire the man’s features. But it was replaced with a stern flare within that grey blue eye as the man let out the inhale of breath.

“Well, that certainly remains to be seen, now doesn’t it?” said Slade, a suggestive drawl lilting in his tone. “Your intentions seem to be innocent enough, but your attitude has been something less than desired. But I want you to understand this, our conversation about the subject isn’t over.” That frightening look entered the man’s features again. “We will have a discussion and I will ascertain at that point on whether or not you’re in big trouble for your foolish judgment. Being a hero again does not mean I will allow you to make poor choices in the matter of your safety.”

Dick’s shoulders drooped downward, his body hunching slightly in this action.

“I wasn’t… I didn’t mean…”

“I understand that you are no longer used to being solely Robin in your life,” continued Slade, his tone softening as his lecture persisted. “But I still want you to guard your identity. It is only with your safety in mind that I say this. Do you understand me?”

Dick nodded glumly. “Yes, sir.”

“Good.”

“You’ll still train us today, won’t you?” asked Dick hopefully, glancing up at the man with pleading eyes and praying internally that he hadn’t messed everything up now. It would be horrible if that had happened. It had been so exciting for Dick to have the man here.

However, it seemed as if this wasn’t the case.

There was an exasperated sigh and a shake of the head. Dick had a fleeting feeling that he couldn’t be in too much trouble if the man could ruffle his hair this gently with that affectionate smile tugging at his mouth – and that was exactly what was happening at that moment.

A glowing peace entered Dick’s heart as he felt the man’s warmth – through that kind hand and through that gentle, yet tired tone as he spoke his reply.

“If I must.”

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