A/N: Don't own or claim to own the characters or settings here, only the idea's to push the them around in. So, no suey the poor dude.

"Because of you. You don't realize it Raven, you're actually the most hopeful person I've ever met. From the day you were born, they said you were evil. That you were created to do unspeakable things. But you wished for more. You dared to hope that you could be a hero."

Robin

Teen Titans "The End"

The Cruelty of Hope

The darkness of the room was absolute, seeming to swallow both light and sound. Footfalls were muffled by the padding of the floor, furthering the illusion of being in an alien environment, a place devoid of habitation.

A gentle clicking was the only warning before dozens of objects were sent whistling through the air. A shadow in the darkness ducked, rolled and leapt from one side of the cavernous room to the other, before leaping up and spring boarding off the wall and somersaulting at a right angle from his previous momentum.

It landed in a crouch, with arms suddenly flung out to both side, sending it's own wave of projectiles out into the darkness, even as the gentle clicking once more sounded in the room.

Concussive waves shattered the silence of the room as projectile met projectile, deflecting them into the walls and stationary objects that occupied the room. The brilliant flashes of light gave a strobe effect, showing a young man dressed in an all black costume, a domino mask resting on his face. In a freeze frame style of motion, the young man moved with practiced ease and grace, deftly avoiding another lethal series of darts and blades sent at him.

Once more he sprang upwards, his body taking on a crucifix like position as he arced, his hands releasing his own wave of bladed explosives at the recessed and hidden launchers. The resulting explosions rocked the room once more, only this time the gentle clicking was reduced to a horrid clacking and grating sound, a sound that signified a successful training session to the darkly dressed figure.

"Lights on," said Robin, Boy Wonder and leader of the super group known as the Teen Titans. As the fluorescent tubes sprang on, it revealed the devastation his personal training session had wrought. Surveying the damage, he grunted and shook his head, the feeling of pride quickly replaced by chagrin.

"It's gonna take me forever to clean this up," he griped softly, his muscular shoulders sagging slightly. His moment of weakness was instantly hidden, his face and body once more going into a disciplined and stoic pose, as if someone was watching. Without a further word about his thoughts or feelings, Robin left the room and retrieved brooms, garbage bins and wide faced shovels.

Time passed as he worked diligently to clean the training room, ensuring that it would be ready for the nightly training session he led the Titans in. Robin worked in silence, only the sound of his controlled breathing and the interaction of the tools on various surfaces broke the stillness of the room.

After putting away his tools, he returned to the room, taking one final glance around before nodding and giving himself a grim smile of satisfaction. Almost as if his communicator knew he was done, it chirped shrilly.

Robin pulled it from his belt, flipping it open with practiced ease. "Robin here," he said confidently, as if expecting the call the entire time.

"We need to talk," came the low growl of Batman, his cowled face barely discernible from the gloom.

"When and where?" asked Robin, his stomach knotting slightly at the thought of what his father figure and mentor could want enough to personally summon him.

"I'll be on the roof in ten minutes, be there," Batman said then abruptly closed the link.

Snapping the lid of his communicator closed, Robin sighed and shook his head. No matter how long he'd been away or the experiences he'd had, he always seemed to be off balance when dealing with Batman.

Walking briskly to the staircase, Robin took the stairs two at a time up the tower until he reached the roof access. Punching in the code to open the door and disable the alarms, he waited only a moment before the door's reinforced bolts slid back to their open positions, allowing the door to slid effortlessly open.

The sun was still hidden beneath the horizon, though fingers of orange and pink had clawed their way into the darkness of the night skies. The stars were dimming slowly, giving way to the ruler of the day skies and hiding their beauty once more in the endless cycling of night to day, day to night.

Robin stood motionless within the shadow of the entry point, his black training suit giving him extra camouflage in the darkness he'd come to depend on. He was only partially surprised when he felt the firm and unwavering hand of Batman on his shoulder, never having seen his one time partner even arrive on the roof.

"Nice costume. Alfred's help?" Batman asked the young man, eying the new outfit he was wearing.

Robin looked down at himself, then back up to Batman. "Thanks, and yeah, I asked for his help a while ago. Thought this might help me blend into the rooftops at night. My old one was just too noticeable," he admitted, feeling the heat rise into his cheeks, remembering the discussion he'd had with Batman regarding his uniform not so long ago.

Batman let it slide, not wanting to rub anything into the young man's face. "Something has come up and I need your help," he finally stated, shrugging his cape over his shoulders to that it covered his body, giving him the illusion of disappearing into the shadows. Only the lower part of his face was visible in the dim lights that shone on the tower from Jump City.

Raising an eyebrow, "You need MY help?" asked Robin, surprise and something akin to shock in the tone of his voice. Their relationship was strained at the best of times, though each had always known that help was only a moment away should either require it.

Nodding stiffly, "Yes, I need someone to back me up with a mission from the Justice League, someone that has a very unique skill set. Simply put Robin, I need YOU. Are you up for it?" he asked him quietly, waiting only a moment for the answer.

"Of course. What do you need me to do?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

A hand pushed from behind the cape, holding a optical data disk. "Take this, it'll have the information you'll need on it. Also, you're going to need a date, someone that can blend in with high society and not give away your cover," Batman said, watching the young man's face carefully.

"Huh? Date?" Robin stumbled over the information, his face snapping up to look directly into the cowl of the Batman. "What do you mean date?" he asked quickly.

"A date. I'm sure you've heard of the concept at the very least. You and preferably a woman, dressed up, having dinner, drinks and dancing while carrying on inane small talk with ego-centric, self important people that are convinced of their superiority over you. Although your experiences might have differed," he replied glibly, the hint of a smile crossing his normally dour face.

It took Robin several seconds to realize a few rather interesting points of the statement. The primary being that Batman had just made a self-depreciating joke with him, the second was that he was probably asking for his help without the knowledge of the Justice League. "You want me and a date to run cover for you then?" he asked, to clarify what he suspected.

Batman nodded slowly, "Yes, I do. I need someone I can trust not to blow their cover in case things hit the fan. Dick, I need someone that knows how I operate and can play to my strengths, and you're the only one I would trust to do that," the man admitted, his voice dropping until it was barely audible, as if embarrassed by the admission.

Dick Grayson, the original Boy Wonder, stood in mute surprise at the hidden praise in the statement. He could count on one hand the number of times Bruce Wayne, the legendary Batman, had given him anything remotely resembling a compliment. "What about Tim or Barbara?" he asked, wondering what had happened to the Bat family since his departure.

Shaking his head, "No, Tim's too young, I need someone older and NOT associated with Bruce Wayne. As for Barbara..." he trailed off, not breaking eye contact with the young man but not continuing the statement.

"Won't they recognize Richard Grayson?" he asked, his brow furrowing as he did so. "I was kind of a fixture at all the functions for a while."

"I taught you how to be a master of disguise right? Or have you forgotten everything I've taught you?" he replied darkly, the persona of the Bat replacing the brief glimpse of humanity he'd shown.

Robin had the good grace to sigh and blush slightly, "Oh, yeah...um..I mean NO!. I mean, it won't be a problem, I haven't forgotten," once more finding himself feeling inadequate next to his legendary mentor.

Batman walked past Robin, his booted feet making almost no noise on the graveled roof of the tower. "I didn't think you had. Read over the information and get back in touch with me by dinner this evening. I'll send Alfred with the car to pick you and your date up. He sends his best wishes by the way," he told his protege, his finger depressing a small button on his belt.

A jet black rope fell from the sky right next to the man. Grasping the rope with his right hand, he turned to look back at Robin. "Your date needs to be inconspicuous. I need the both of you to be part of the woodwork there, not muscle. You'll understand more after you read it," was his final words before the rope retracted, pulling the man into the sky.

Robin watched the man with a sense of awe and pride, the man's cape giving him the appearance of having wings as he was pulled back into the bat shaped plane. As the craft disappeared into the still dark early morning sky, he turned and walked back to the door, reentering the tower.

His thoughts were racing as he made his way to his room, wondering what Batman could have gotten into that he needed him to act as hidden back up. It wasn't that they didn't like to work together, but too many harsh words had been spoken between them to truly allow a frictionless relationship, a fact that had led Robin to leaving Gotham and forming his own super team.

Sighing heavily, he sat before his computer terminal, sliding the disk carefully into the slot and waiting only a moment for the self initiating program to begin it's data dump. As the information scrolled up the screen, Robin scanned it over, his trained eye picking up the basics of the mission, his face going grim. "Crap," he muttered quietly, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, his mind going into problem solving mode.

Leaning back in the office chair, he interlocked his fingers behind his head, eyes going to the ceiling as he slowly spun in the chair. It was a habit he'd picked up since forming the Titan's, and only something he did in the privacy of his room. He controlled all aspects of himself in public and in private, never showing weakness if he could avoid doing so, even to his teammates. To have them see him doing something so minorly frivolous would cause him no small amount of embarrassment, even if it did show a more human and flawed side to his personality. A leader, in his mind, should always be strong and decisive, not someone prone to flights of fancy or acts of childishness, a lesson drummed into him by Batman.

His stomach rumbling finally pulled him from his thoughts and back to matters closer at hand. Spinning back to the terminal, he opened a secure channel to some of the honorary Titan's. "This is Robin, I need you to come to the tower this afternoon, something has come up and we need your help," he said briskly, encoding the message and transmitting it.

That being accomplished, Robin stood and walked to the shower, removing his newest uniform as he did, peeling off different parts and tossing them to the bed, then walking into his bathroom naked to shower away the sweat from his morning workout.

Main living area, 30 minutes later...

The traditional and now ritual morning battle was well underway by the time he reached the door leading to the kitchen area. Cyborg had woken up with a serious craving for meat thereby ending the hard fought truce he'd established with his green skinned changeling best friend, Beast Boy.

"Dude! How could you? Do you even CARE that I might have been a pig before?" lamented Beast Boy, vainly trying to snatch away the plate of bacon Cyborg was holding.

"Oh, I KNOW you're a pig BB, I've seen your room!" taunted the half man, half robot, as he waved a piece of the bacon over his mouth to further antagonize the smaller titan.

"Don't do it!" warned Beast Boy, his eyes narrowing while one hand covered his stomach.

With a triumphant and cocky smile, Cyborg flipped the piece of bacon up into the air, attempting to catch it with his mouth.

His teeth clinked together painfully hard, no bacon having landed in his mouth. His lone biological eye widened almost comically as his free hand covered his mouth, a stifled moan of pain resounding from behind the hand.

Beast Boy looked owlishly at his friend, then up into the air, looking for the missing slice of meat. "What the heck happened? Do we got ghosts or something?" he asked in a near fearful voice, eyes going wildly about the room.

Before letting the changeling's imagination get the better of him, Robin stepped from behind the massive Cyborg, holding the illusive piece of bacon. "I'm in the mood for pancakes, how about you two?" he asked with a cocky smile, his head tilted to the side.

Giving the Boy Wonder a wounded and thoroughly offended look, Cyborg growled at him. "I. Want. Meat," he said pointedly.

Robin shrugged and tossed the piece of bacon at the man, "Okay by me, but I sure didn't want any Tofu for dinner tonight," he countered, walking past the stunned duo and entering into the main living area.

The fight forgotten, an ecstatic looking Beast Boy and betrayed looking Cyborg followed him, both voicing their thoughts on his statement.

As they cleared the kitchen area, he turned and crossed his arms across his chest. "Now that I have your attention, can we quit the fighting for a minute, I've got to talk to you guys about something," Robin stated bluntly.

The duo wasn't about to let his interference go so easily however, with Cyborg wanting meat at all the meals while Beast Boy thinking that he'd finally made a convert out of Robin to be a Vegan.

Pretending to listen, Robin only waited a few moments, then let a chilling smile cross his face. "Well, since you two can't decide on one thing, I guess that we'll have to let someone else choose for us. You know the rules. Hope you guys are hungry," he said, giving them both a quiet chuckle.

Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at one another in confusion, then back to Robin, then back to one another. They both suddenly came to the same conclusion, "STARFIRE!" they almost shrieked, the tones of the voices hitting octaves well higher then should have been possible for either man.

"Friends, I am so happy that I am to end your morning fight with the breaking of our fast. Come, I will serve you a proper Tamarainian meal that consists of both MEAT and VEGTABLES. This way we can all enjoy our morning meal without any of the arguing," said a smiling Starfire, hoisting a platter of food that might have made a better experiment into xenobiology and infectious diseases.

Robin left the now stuttering and stammering duo to their punishment with a self satisfied smile, crossing into the living area. The last member of the Titan's was hovering near the window's, a book in one hand and her porcelain tea cup in the other. "Nicely handled Robin, but you realize your victory is only temporary," Raven told him dryly, not looking up from her reading.

The young man shrugged, "True, but I've got ulterior motives. I need your help," he told her, turning to looking out into the harbor, the rising sun glinting off the endless waves below.

Something in his tone and demeanor caught her attention, causing her to rest her book in her lap, and turn to face him. Holding the delicate cup in both hands, she silently observed the leader of the Titan's, noting that his body language and facial expressions gave nothing away to what he was thinking or feeling.

Calming her emotions, she closed her eyes and gently touched on the bond they shared, using it to gauge what was going on in his mind. His emotions were jumbled, belying his calm exterior. Nervousness and uncertainty were at the forefront, followed closely by a sense of quiet foreboding.

Opening her eyes, she only had to wait a few moments before he turned to her, knowing that he could sense when she touched his mind and emotions. "Batman called me this morning. He needs my help," he told her quietly, both of them ignoring the cries and exclamations of the others from the kitchen.

He shifted nervously, but maintained eye contact with the girl before him. "He needs me to do some undercover work with him tonight and possibly a bit more. I need a partner though..." he paused here, sighing heavily, looking over his shoulder at Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire.

Turning back to Raven, he opened the bond as well, letting her pick up on his feelings as well as being able to sense hers. "More specifically, I need a...date," he finished, his voice almost so quiet that it could barely be heard.

Raven regarded him with surprise for a long moment, half expecting him to break into laughter or at least smirk in that arrogant manner he had at having played a joke on someone. Neither happened. If it hadn't been for him opening his emotions to her, she'd never have believed it. "I DON'T do dates Robin," she told him, her voice taking a chilly tone.

He actually winced at her response, causing her to feel a bit guilty over the harsh reply. "I KNOW that Raven, but I need someone that can blend into a high society party. We'll both be undercover, backing up Batman for something he's doing for the Justice League. Please?" he asked her, the tone of his voice having a plaintive quality to it.

It was Raven's turn to sigh, feeling extremely self-conscious and embarrassed at the offer, knowing that he wouldn't have asked her unless he'd had to. 'We're friends, and he's kind of dating Starfire...' she thought to herself, turning to look out the window as she sipped her tea, collecting her thoughts.

The two of them shared a very special with the other, having literally been inside each other's minds, with the results of something so intimate leaving them with the ability to sense emotions and even the strong thoughts of the other. Neither had sought to further explore the depth or possibly power of the bond, instead each taking a silent comfort in the constant presence of the other, drawing strength and peace when needed.

There was a mutual attraction between them, one that was never spoken of for fear of hurting not only the other members of the team but of damaging the powerful friendship they shared. 'Not to mention fear of rejection or ridicule just by trying to further those emotions,' she thought to herself, somewhat bitterly, an emotion that shocked her.

The whole situation was leaving her unbalanced, confused and not sure of herself or her decisions. "So, the only reason you're asking me is because you'll think I'll blend in better with the upper crust types?" she asked him, her voice once more dry and emotionless, but she didn't turn to look at him.

"Well, I guess...kinda," he answered, slightly confused by the question. "I mean, it ain't like I could take Star, she wouldn't be able to blend even if I could get a disguise for her. You're the only one I'd really trust with this Raven, you're my best friend," he explained, feeling strange emotions from the girl.

His answer didn't ease her feelings of anxiety, but it did further confuse on his feelings for her. Though he'd been completely honest with her with his answer, there were underlying emotions there that gave her pause as to what he truly thought. "Fine, I'll go with you, I'll be your date," Raven paused, turning to look at him before finishing. "But so help me, if you make me mingle, I'll be worse then any nightmare you've ever had. Are we clear?" she asked, raising an eyebrow challengingly at him.

Robin smiled in obvious relief, sighing before he spoke. "Nope, no mingling for us. I'll work out our cover on the way to our meeting tonight. Thanks Raven," he told her, gracing her with a pleased smile.

Both of them turned to regard the others, "So, what are you going to tell them?" she asked, knowing that Starfire wasn't going to take the news well.

"The truth...well, MOST of the truth anyways. Batman was extremely specific about our involvement and what we're to do, or not do as the case may be," he answered, mentally setting himself for the impending confrontation.

Raven watched as Robin headed back to the kitchen area, unable to hide the small smile at the way he was walking. 'He's moving like a man on the way to his own execution,' she thought distantly, wincing as she did, hoping that her musings weren't too close to the truth.

"Guys, I've got to talk to you for a second," he called out, raising his voice above the ambient fighting and arguing. Seeing that it had no effect, he brought two fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly, instantly ending the fight in mid action.

All three of them turned to regard him curiously, although Cyborg and Beast Boy took the momentary distraction to clear the immediate zone from the now crawling gelatinous mass that Starfire had made.

"Thank you. Now, I need to tell you something," he said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Sure Robby, what's on your mind?" asked Cyborg, gratefully taking his plate of bacon and quickly munching on it before anyone could complain.

Beast Boy glared at the man, mentally plotting his dinner time vengeance over Cyborg, plots that involved vast quantities of tofu and vegetables. "Yeah Robin, what's up?" he echoed.

Starfire floated closer to the man, looking at him with a curious expression, seeing how serious he was. "Has something come up? Did someone escape again?" she asked, knowing all too well the look he held meant his mind was on a mission.

"No, not exactly Star. I had a visitor this morning and I need to go undercover for a few days," he started, only to have his words interrupted by Starfire.

"What about the rest of us? Surely you do not intend to go alone, it would not be safe," she said, cocking her head to the side.

"Yeah man, no doubt. You're the one always telling us that we've got to have back up or a plan and that we NEVER go it alone. What gives?" asked Cyborg, his own feelings of something not right bubbling up. For all his faults, Robin was never one to just go gallivanting off on some mission, not without taking every precaution known to man, beast and cyborg first.

"Sweet! I'm your man Robin. I can be like your pet or something. OOOOOH, better yet, I can be like a CARRIER PIGEON and keep an eye on you AND send messages back to the others. So when do we leave?" crowed Beast Boy, leaping to stand next to Robin, his arm across his shoulders in a comradely fashion.

Groaning slightly, Robin plucked his friends arm off of him, taking a step back in the process. "Sorry Beast Boy, but you'd stand out and I need to keep a VERY low profile where I'm going. I'm taking Raven with me this time," he said bluntly, hoping to ease the coming argument by being straight to the point.

"RAVEN?!?!" chorused the trio, looking at him in shock before turning surprised expressions to the hovering girl nearby.

"What? Are you saying that I can't be inconspicuous?" she asked them in a dark tone, her brows furrowing slightly at them.

Her look had the immediate effect of cowing both the men, but it only served to further confuse Starfire. "I do not understand Robin. How is it that Raven could be chosen over myself for an undercover assignment? Am I not also able to...hide in plain sight?" she asked, searching for the right words.

The look she gave him caused a twinge in his chest, like he'd just kicked a puppy after setting it on fire. "Star, no offense, but even if we could hide what you look like you'd still stand out in a crowd just by the way you talk and act. I needed someone that could handle themselves in a very public situation without giving away who we are. Raven fits that bill perfectly," he gently explained.

She blinked at him for a moment, then turned to Raven, searching her face closely as she considered his words. "I see, then we will be standing by in case you need us," she said finally, though her tone had lost most, if not all, of it's warmth.

The girl's tone cut into him, knowing that he'd just hurt her feelings but unable to do anything about it at the moment. "Guys, I know this is short notice, but it's something that just came up. We'll be leaving tonight, and hopefully should be back in a few days. I sent out word to Aqua Lad, Kid Flash and Jinx, they should be here by this afternoon, to give you guys some back up in case something happens," he continued, unable to meet Starfire's eyes.

Cyborg nodded thoughtfully, his chin cradled in his hand. "Sounds like you've got all the bases covered then. I dunno Robby, I still got a bad feeling about this," he told his friend carefully, not wanting to let him go but knowing that he didn't have any concrete reasons for his fears.

"I know Cy, but it's something I HAVE to do. When we get back we'll sit down and explain it as best we can, alright?" assured Robin, taking the few steps forward to stand before the mighty robotic man.

"While we're gone, I'm leaving you in charge. If anything gets too big for you to handle call Titan's East or a couple of the honorary Titan's. I trust you Cy," he told him, nodding respectfully to the man.

"I'm all over it man, don't worry. But ya know..." he trailed off, looking with a kind of sadistic glee over at Beast Boy. "Since I'm in charge, I get to pick the meals, and..." he taunted, pulling a ball of green tinged, mangled and stinky bundle of athletic socks from behind his back.

"Get in the first shot in STINK BALL!!" he cried, hurling the ball of nastiness at thoroughly surprised Beast Boy, catching him square in the face, with his mouth open.

Ducking instinctively, Robin pulled a tactical retreat, knowing better then to get caught up in the middle of the game with so much to do. Pausing only a moment at the door, he gave a short series of hand signals to Raven, then darted out into the corridors, taking the most expeditious route to his room.

Starfire watched him go with sad eyes, confused and thoroughly hurt by what had transpired. They had shared many seemingly special moments during her time with the Titan's, including a dance that had been simply magical for the young alien. Though she had showed him all the affection she could muster without compromising herself or otherwise humiliating her own sense of propriety, he had seemed more distant in recent days.

The defeat of Trigon had taken it's toll on the entire team, though Robin and Raven had both seemed to find comfort in each other. Koriand'r felt many things about this strange and troubling turn of events, including jealousy and envy, but held her thoughts rather then approach either of them. Though she felt she truly loved Robin, she couldn't summon the courage it would take to confront either of them and possibly being humiliated in the process. Instead the big hearted girl simply watched, waited and prayed that she was being nothing more then silly or possessive.

As Robin fled, she looked back to the dark Titan, her eyes still sad though slightly jealous. Raven showed no signs of noticing her looks or sensing her insecurities, a fact which eased Starfire's mind slightly. She watched as Raven waited only a few moments into the impromptu game before also departing, leaving Starfire to her thoughts, devices and a game involving smelly sweat socks.

Raven simply sighed, levitated her cup and book to the nearby table, deflected the ball of socks coming her way, then surrounded herself with dark power, teleporting from the room. Rematerializing from the floor outside Robin's room, she knocked firmly.

The door opened almost immediately, Robin motioning her into the room and all but slamming the door once she was in. "Are you SURE you want to leave them alone like this?" she asked him quietly, watching him closely as he moved around the room, picking up various objects and clothing as he did.

"Yeah, they'll be fine...I think," he said, pausing a moment to give her a quizzical look. Robin sighed, "I'm sorry Raven, I know how much you hate going out in public, so I really appreciate this," he told her, sitting down on his bed.

She moved to his office chair, relaxing in it and crossing her legs. "So, you gonna tell me what's going on or do I have to guess?" Raven asked him, noticing how preoccupied he seemed.

He nodded, standing up from the bed and moving to the front of the computer, leaning in front of her as he did. He could smell the wholly unique scent he'd long associated with Raven. A combination of exotic herbs, the fresh clean scent of her shampoo and the faint yet recognizable scent of the lavender perfume she preferred. "I got this from Batman this morning. We're going as HIS back up, while he's doing something for the Justice League. They won't know about us at all, that's why all the secrecy," he said quietly, letting her scan the information quickly.

Raven's eyes got wider the more she read, until finally she turned her head slowly to look at Robin, giving him an incredulous look. "And exactly HOW do you think I'm going to BLEND here Robin?" she asked him tersely.

He gave her a confident grin, "Don't worry too much about that. All we've got to do is keep to ourselves, sip our drinks and move aimlessly around. Most everyone will think twice about approaching us with the looks we'll give them, the rest we'll figure out as we go," he said with a shrug.

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. "Not one of your better plans Boy Blunder, but you're the one used to this type of soirée, not me. I suppose I've got to wear a dress as well?" she asked in a slightly defeated tone of voice.

He blinked at her for a moment, "You'll look great Raven, don't worry," he said without thinking, causing her to snap her eyes back at him, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

Robin's mind took the moment to process his off the cuff remark, given the look he was currently receiving from Raven, then proceeded to blush. "Um, so, you wanna go shopping?" he asked her, feeling suddenly very nervous and self-conscious.

The feelings he was emanating, combined with the connection the bond they shared provided, gave Raven a rather in depth and somewhat surprising insight into the way he felt. Beyond the trust and respect he held for her was something more powerful, even if it was in it's infancy stages. She had felt this before from him, only at the time it had been more for Starfire than anyone else. This time however it was unmistakably directed at her, a fact that thrilled and excited her as much as it scared her to the core of her being.

Raven had been raised with the understanding that she must always guard her emotions, never letting them show lest she destroy everything and everyone around her. In short, emotions equaled death and destruction, which was why she hid herself away so thoroughly from anyone and everyone that could cause her to falter in this discipline. Since the destruction and banishment of Trigon, Raven was now in unfamiliar territory, able to feel and experience life fully, both the good and the bad.

She'd experienced an infatuation with Aqualad when he'd first arrived, tolerated Beast Boy's advances until the appearance of Terra, but that was the extent of her experiences into the romantic. While she'd admired Robin before both as a leader and as a good looking man, she'd always assumed that he and Starfire would eventually work out their issues and have a brood of crime fighting children. Now she'd discovered that he was regarding her as possibly more than a friend, seeing her beyond the facade she showed everyone.

"Shopping?" she asked him, feeling just as nervous and uncomfortable, a fact that irritated her, the desire to control her emotional state almost overwhelming.

"Yeah, you know, buying stuff. We've got to look the part after all," he said, burying his own discomfort beneath the guise of getting down to business.

Robin's feelings for the girl were strong, as he considered her one of his very best friends, her strength and quiet insight had provided him with a stable base to act as a counter to his driven nature so that he didn't self destruct in his pursuit of justice. While Batman had all but lost himself into the mission, thriving with the solitude and ferocity of taking out crime in the city he called home, Robin had found strength in his friends, building a team that was as capable, if not more so, then what a lone crime fighter could do.

After the bond formed and the defeat of Trigon, he'd found her to be something more than he'd expected. The quiet respect had been evolving into something stronger, seeing her as not just a team mate and colleague but as a beautiful young woman. He wasn't sure if the feelings that were starting to make themselves known were born of being in such close and intimate proximity to her or if they were indeed something subconscious in both of them that was now coming to the forefront. Either way, the feelings weren't something unwanted, only unexpected.

"I've got an account we can use to shop from Batman, we'll have to go to Gotham though. I don't think we're going to want to be seen shopping for evening wear here in Jump, the paparazzi would have a field day on THAT," Robin said, remembering how much exposure the team had gotten every time they ventured out into the city proper. Starfire usually caused the most commotion, simply because the alien princess's open and expressive nature didn't allow for subtlety, where as Robin and Raven were more apt to try and blend into the crowd, attracting as little attention as possible.

Cyborg and Beast boy drew crowds where ever they went, and they seemed to thrive on it, for it gave both teens ample opportunity to show off and find new gaming partners for the competitions they enjoyed, both physical and digital.

"I don't know about this Robin, are you SURE I'm the best choice?" she asked him, absently playing with her fingers in her lap.

"Raven, I'm absolutely sure or I wouldn't have asked you. The World Congress Ball is going to be full of powerful people from all over the globe. Security is going to be extreme, especially given that they still don't fully trust the Justice League," he explained, taking a seat once more on his bed.

"Even so, the League is putting both Batman and Wonder Woman there incognito to keep an eye on things, just to make sure no one tries to take advantage of this. We're relatively unknown, so we won't be easily recognized even IN uniform, and we're going to be undercover as well. Trust me, it'll be fine and so will you. I've done this kind of thing before, which is why Batman asked for my help," he told the girl, shrugging as if it were no big deal.

Raven looked at him closely as he spoke, realizing that he wasn't going to be wearing his normal outfit for this, which meant no masks. "So, what a second Robin, you're NOT going to be wearing your mask?" she asked, realizing how much trust and faith he was showing her by simply asking her to join him.

"Nope, but I'll be in disguise. You will too, although neither of us should need too much to get by. It's not like our faces are household staples, like say Superman or Green Lantern, so we can afford to show ourselves in public," he explained, giving her a nervous smile.

"I trust you Raven, and I know you won't expose me in anyway," he finished, taking the moment to hold her eyes with his own.

She sat stunned at the honor he was giving her, knowing how much he valued his privacy and secrecy. No matter how much the Titan's had gone through, he'd always kept them at a comfortable distance, never revealing more then he wanted to. For him to open up this small fraction of himself to her showed her exactly how much he did respect and trust her, more so than any of the others, including Starfire.

"Thank you Robin," she told him quietly, feeling marginally better about this now, knowing how much he was putting on the line. 'For all his faults, he still wouldn't take needless chances with this or take it lightly, embarrassing the both of us,' she thought, giving him a slight nod of her head.

"No problem, and thank you. I really appreciate this. I don't know what else Batman's discovered to warrant us running the shadows for him, but it's got to be significant," he told her, taking a deep breath then releasing it slowly.

"I'm going to give our ride a call, have him show up here just after lunch. We were supposed to leave at nightfall but I think it'd be best if we left before then. There's alot to do yet, and I want to find out as much as we can BEFORE we're dropped into the fire," Robin said, standing and pulling a small black bag off the bed.

"When are going to go shopping then?" she asked him also rising to her feet.

"Probably before we meet up with Batman. The ball is in 3 days, so we've got a little bit of time yet to get fully prepared as well as work out our cover story and identities. If everything goes well, we should be back in about a week, give or take," Robin answered, moving to the computer once more.

"And if it DOESN'T go well?" Raven asked quietly as he connected to his contact.

"It's me. Could you pick us up at the Jump City Library in about 3 hours?" he asked, waiting only a moment for the answer, "Thanks, I'll see you then," he finished, then turned to Raven.

"If something DOES go wrong," Robin paused, a slight frown on his face, "Then I just hope that between the four of us it's enough to handle it," he replied, his tone taking on a very serious tone and timbre.

End Of Chapter Notes:

This story is inspired by Mortimerscross' "Boy Wonder Blunders" and by Emaniahilel, both authors here on FFdotNET, and their wonderful works, and I wanted to thank and acknowledge them both here. Their stories have definitely caused me to do some major thinking about stories and plots recently, something I truly appreciated. I know this is VERY similar to a bunch of the works here, but trust me you, I've got a whole new bent and twist for our heroes, hopefully enough of one to keep everyone interested. This is going to be a Robin/Raven central story, with most of the others having a prominent role as well, so if that pairing bothers you, trying reading it anyways, you might be surprised and actually LIKE the story. Thanks for spending the time on this new story, as I know all too well just how valuable time is. RnR if it moves you to do so, but please keep flames at home, with the winter fast approaching they'd be better used to keep yourself warm with anyways. Take care of yourselves and I'll have another chapter up soon.