"Tell Slade to come get me will ya?" Robin asked.
"Can do." Joker said taking off.
Bruce looked dumbfounded.
"Okay buster, time for bed!" Bruce said knocking him out.
_____________________________
Chapter 14: Heart To Heart Reunions

When robin woke up again he was in a soft bed staring up at a ceiling. He bolted upward and looked around. 'A dream?' He asked himself. No, Not a dream. If it was then the titans wouldn't have ever met him, nor he have met them. 'That means.....' robin's thoughts trailed of as he groaned aloud. He was home.... he bolted up and into a fighting stance when his door opened abruptly. Robin relaxed slightly to stand normally only seeing Bruce. That means he hadn't called anyone else yet.

"Jumpy much?" Bruce asked.

"Well why shouldn't I be!? You kidnapped me!" Robin spat.

"Wha-robin are you alright? Do you need a doctor?" Bruce asked.

"I'm fine." Robin growled.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Bruce asked.

"Who have you called?" Robin glared.

"What?" The older man asked astounded.

"Was it the league or the Titans?" Robin seethed.

"The what? Who are the Titans?" Bruce asked confused.

"My....no, a superhero team...." Robin said confused.

"Beast boy? Raven? Cyborg? Starfire? Ring any bells?" Robin asked.

"Um....no?" Bruce said skeptically.

"Okay, I see. Play dumb then. Where is my uniform?" Robin asked aggressively.

"In the cave....?" Bruce replied.

"Not my costume bat boy. My uniform. The orange and black one?" Robin hissed.

"You don't-" Bruce started.

"My apprentice uniform for Slade!! What did you do with it!?" Robin yelled angrily.

Bruce's face became even more confused.

"Slade? Apprentice!? Since when? You've been with me this entire time dick!" Bruce yelled his confusion evident.

Robin winced at the use of his birth name. He hadn't heard it in so long he'd almost forgotten it. 'This must be a dream....' robin thought. Sure enough he awoke to the familiar room again, however this time he had a small metal bracelet on his ankle. Yep this one was real.

"Great." Robin hissed in annoyance.

His father walked in and looked at him with a sad smile.

"Really bat brain? A probationary anklet?" Robin glared.

"Yes robin. It's necessary." Bruce said ignoring the nickname robin had given him.

"This is so stupid!" Robin screamed.

"Dick, calm down." Bruce said not missing the wince from the boy.

Robin really hadn't heard his name in so long it seemed like it wasn't even his. It was foreign to him, and that unnerved him to no end.

"Look. I don't want to have to use that on you, but you'll just run away again without it. Dick what's gotten into you? Stealing, killing? That doesn't sound like my Dickie Birdie to me......." Bruce said softly.

"He died a long time ago Bruce." Robin said sadly but sincerely.

"He doesn't have to be dead. You can unbury him, can't you?" Bruce asked softly.

"I could. But he's so far down it might almost be impossible." Robin said barley over a whisper.

The boy shook his head. 'No. This man left you in the hands of Slade. Don't listen to him! He's just trying to confuse you! He doesn't care for you, so dont think he does!' Robin's mind screamed at him in protest, however the boy simply couldn't seem to shake his father away. Did he love the man? Had he finally forgiven him and not even realized it? Robin sighed and removed his mask, exposing his face to the cool air. It had been a while since his mask had come off. A thin angry outline from his mask adorned the area around his eyes, but the air on his face felt nice.

"At least...I don't think it is...." Robin said in admittance.

"Don't think what is?" Bruce said softly.

"Possible. I don't think it's possible for me to dig up the boy I used to be Bruce. I- I want to... but I don't think I can. You all LEFT me in that psychos hands, you didn't need me!" Robin cried.

"We tried to find you Dickie, we really did. Then when you didn't want to come home, most of us were too broken to try and find you again. Most of us haven't even slept since we last saw you...." Bruce said hesitantly.

"What...no your lying!" Robin said jumping up off the bed away from the man who had just sat down.

"Dickie, you know better than that..." Bruce said calmly.

Robin calmed down quickly. That nickname had always calmed his down and he could never really understand why. It gave him a sense of comfort for some reason. Maybe- no. He wasn't going to bring the old robin back. It was too late.

"Bruce. I can't. I'm sorry but slade, he's just too strong. Besides, even if I leave him I'll never be able to be robin again, I've killed too many people-enjoyed killing so many people.... I'd never be able to be a hero again, I-I" robin trailed off as he fell into his fathers arms and just silently cried. The boy didn't even know who he was anymore. There wasn't anything he could do....and if slade saw him right now, he'd be going through a heavy reconditioning session.
After about an hour robin had fallen asleep, blissfully unaware there were others in the house. Bruce left the boy to sleep in his bed, opting to walk into the living room instead.

"He's asleep." The man spoke in a defeated tone, plopping onto the couch as he put his costume on.

"He is still your son Bruce..." The other voice comforted.

"Yes, I know Alfred. It's just....hard..." Bruce sighed.

"I'm losing my son....the only family I have and I'm losing him to some psycho!" Bruce growled.

"A very dangerous psycho....." Bruce whispered to himself.

"What shall I do if master dick awakens?" Alfred asked.

"See if he'll eat something, and give him a few pain killers for the injuries he received. If he's unwilling to take them, just leave it be." Bruce sighed.

After confirmation from Alfred, Bruce headed down to the batcave, where the JLA and Titans had gathered.

"How is the he?" Starfire asked as soon as she saw him.

"Upset, but otherwise fine. He fell asleep again. I don't think he's been getting too much sleep lately." Bruce told the pink haired girl.

"What did he say?" Superman asked.

Bruce knew Clark was concerned. Clark used be like an uncle to Robin.

"He knows he doesn't want to be this way....but he doesn't think he can go back to being a hero." Bruce admitted.

"So what does this mean now?" Green lantern asked.

"If we can help him, we help him." Bruce said firmly.

"And if we can't?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Then we do what we do with any other criminal." Bruce said sadly.