Disclaimer: I do not own Titans. I only own my oc.
Description: Through every trial and tribulation Noa Verbeck stuck by Bruce Wayne's side, even when his falling out with Dick causes her to lose the first boy she ever loved. She hoped never to have to see Dick again, but when the demons of her past suddenly catch up with her, she's forced to leave Gotham in order to keep it from falling farther into chaos. Realizing Dick might be the only person equipped to help her start over, she visits him in Detroit. One thing Noa didn't see coming is also having to worry about keeping a young teenage girl alive as they try to figure out who she is and why a bunch of people want her dead.

Chapter 1

The weight of the words her father had just spoken landed on Noa's shoulders like a ton of bricks, sucking the air from her lungs. The sentence seemed to echo in her mind as she tried to process it. Thinking it would help stop her heart from pounding against her ribs, she squeezed her eyes shut and took a few deep breaths. By the time she willed herself to open them, she'd almost forgotten she wasn't alone. Her father, or rather the only real father she ever knew, was still standing before her, the paper in his hands that confirmed the freshly delivered news. The news that was certain to change Noa's life once again.

"Can't we fight this?"

Noa shook her head without looking to the speaker behind her. "It wouldn't be of any use. The decision's been made."

"Well, it was the wrong fucking decision," Jason responded, but Noa didn't have the energy to voice her agreement. "He must have bought the parole board."

"It wasn't the board that let him go," Bruce said, causing Noa and Jason to exchange a look.

"Then who the fuck was responsible for it?"

"The mayor."

Noa sighed, dropping her head into her hands. "Fuck me."

"Gladly," Jason chirped from behind her. She could feel Bruce's scolding gaze land on him, leaving any reprimand she could think of obsolete.

"Sorry, I was just trying to lighten the mood," Jason said a moment later. Noa inhaled as she raked her fingers through her golden hair to push it out of her face. She pivoted on the heels of her bare feet to look at her foster brother.

"Jase, could you leave us alone for a minute? I have to talk to Bruce."

"But—"

"Just for a minute, I promise," Noa added before any further arguments could be made. Jason must have sensed the seriousness of the situation on his own for once because he left without another word.

Bruce waited until the door to the kitchen swung shut behind Jason to return his attention to his daughter. "I'm going to do everything I can to find a way to fix this, Noa. I swear."

She nodded, fully believing his promise. "I know you will… but what if there isn't a way to fix this one."

Her dad seemed prepared for her response because barely a second passed before he told her, "There's always a way, Noa. Even if there isn't, I'll make one."

Unable to hold back the scoff that built in her throat, she shook her head. "My family—"

"He is not your family," Bruce said, all doubt and concern fading from his features. Instead, it was replaced with a familiar emotion that Noa had seen countless times, usually before he beat some criminal half to death. "Not anymore."

"Not ever." She nodded. Bruce, Alfred, and Jason were the only family she ever truly knew. Only one person was missing from that equation, but nothing would ever change that. "But my grandfather is my blood and he knows it. I don't think his greed or his pride will let him rest until he gets what he wants. God forbid, if what he wants is me…"

Bruce was never one to initiate displays of affection so when he took the two steps it required for him to be able to touch Noa, she wasn't sure what to expect. He wrapped his arms over her shoulders before she could even process that he was hugging her. It only took her a second to respond by snaking her hands around his back.

"I've always done my best to protect you, Noa," Bruce said, pausing to kiss the top of her head, "and I always will."

Most people had only ever seen one side of Bruce and a whole different, darker side of Batman. Noa was lucky to be one of the select few he'd let inside the walls he'd built around himself long before he came into her life. For every dark or violent act she had seen him commit as Batman, she would also witness twice as many acts of kindness and generosity by Bruce Wayne. No matter what had occurred over the years, there hadn't been a single second that she was afraid of him. Whether it was as Bruce or Batman, Noa felt the safest when she was with him. She could only hope that feeling wouldn't change in the following weeks.

TWO WEEKS LATER…

"Here."

Noa looked up from under her jacket hood to see Jason holding out a single key. She arched an eyebrow as she took it from his hand.

"Bruce wants you to have it," Jason explained.

"But my—"

He huffed a sigh. "It's a car, Noa. One that can't be traced back to us, I promise. We just want you to be safe."

"Is that why he's not here?"

Jason pursed his lips as he angled his head toward her. "I think it's because he's not great at goodbyes, especially when it's with his favorite kid—don't bother denying it. We all know it's true."

"Thank you, Jase," Noa said, cracking a smile for the first time in days, She winced when it stretched the cut on her lips. Jason reached up and ran a finger under the bruise on her cheek.

"Make sure to put some ice on that once you get to the motel."

She scoffed and swatted his hand away. "You know, I've been doing this a lot longer than you, kid. I know how to administer first-aid."

"Kid? You're like, what, four years older than me?" Jason said, obviously offended.

"Almost five," Noa corrected with a nudge.

"Right, right, right. Those three months really make a difference."

"Stop being a smartass." She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "It could actually get you killed one day and I won't be there to save—"

"Yeah, you will," Jason rebuffed. He smirked when she met his gaze. "We're going to figure this out and once we do, you'll be back home with me, Bruce, and Alfred. Right where you belong."

Noa tried to return his smile, but it was near impossible with what was looming over her head. "I want to believe that, Jason. I just… don't want to risk the future of Gotham because I have too much faith in Bruce. I know he's our hero, but he is just a man."

Jason faced her and squared his shoulders, oozing the same confidence he always did. "I'm telling you, Noa; we're going to fix this. No matter what it costs."

Despite the objections echoing in her mind, she nodded. "I know."

Both of them turned their gazes too the ominous skies when a crack of thunder echoed through the air. Jason chuckled to himself as he looked back at Noa. "Well, as much as I love you, I'm not staying out here to get drenched or struck by lightning."

"The odds of that—"

"You know what I mean," Jason said, cutting off her prepared statistic. He pulled his hands from his pockets and wrapped them around his sister, kissing the side of her head. "I love you, Noa."

"I love you, too," she mumbled into his jacket. They held on to each other until Jason realized it had started raining. He shoved his hands back into his pockets and nodded to the car.

"There's something in the glove compartment for you," Jason revealed as he backtracked toward the diner. "Read it. Use it."

"Jase…"

With an exasperated sigh, he rolled his eyes. "Can you resist the urge to argue with me for once in your life and just do it? It's from me, not Bruce."

Hesitantly, Noa relented with a careless shrug.

Jason paused for just a moment as he stepped into the restaurant. "But there is actually something from Bruce in the trunk. Use it well!"

With that, he disappeared into the diner. It would have been a useless endeavor to get him to take the surprise gift back to Bruce. Whatever that man told Jason to do, he did it and he did it well.

Noa pulled the car key from her pocket and got into the car, starting it immediately to get the heater running. She pushed the hood of her jacket off her head and took a deep breath before opening the center console. The only thing inside was a small piece of paper. She exhaled as she unfolded it, taking a moment to read the scribble on the inside.

"You've got to fucking kidding me," she whispered under her breath, sparing a glance at the diner where Jason was sure to be at a table, ordering more food than he could possibly eat.

A part of her wanted to go inside and throw the paper at him in order to prove that she would never need the address that was written on it. Unfortunately, the bigger, more sensible part of her knew that wouldn't be the smartest idea. Without Bruce or Jason able to offer anymore assistance, she had very limited options of people she could turn to for help. The first boy she ever fell in love with just happened to be one of them.

A string of expletives spilled from her mouth as she put the car in drive and peeled out of the parking lot. She was suddenly very happy that she'd have a day to figure out what she was going to say to Dick Grayson when she got to Detroit.

"Don't be weird. Don't be weird. Don't be weird…" Noa continued to repeat the same phrase over and over again as she paced the length of the hallway outside of Dick's supposed apartment.

For some reason, it gave her a strange sense of comfort. She didn't really know what else to tell herself that would help prepare her for seeing Dick. It had been over a year without so much as a phone call on her birthday. Noa knew he wanted to break off all ties with Bruce when he left, but she was secretly hoping that he'd made a mistake when he said that meant her too.

"Here goes nothing," she said, facing the door after a few more minutes of intense pacing. No matter how many times she walked back and forth, it wouldn't make it any less awkward when she finally came face to face with him again.

Forming a fist, she knocked three times and hoped that would be enough to bring him to the door. Noa had to actively fight the urge to run when she finally heard the lock disengage and the doorknob began to turn.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," she muttered as the door swung open.

Noa inhaled slowly when she laid eyes on Dick. Though he didn't look that different from the last time she saw him, the gnawing sensation in her gut told her he was no longer the boy she grew up with. She did get some minor pleasure from the way his jaw dropped when he realized it was her at his door. At least, she wasn't the only one being thrown off balance by their bittersweet reunion.

She let him squirm for a minute longer before putting a hand on her hip and cocking her head. "You should close your mouth; you'll catch flies."

That seemed to snap Dick out of his haze. He shook his head as he looked her over. "Noa?"

"In the flesh," she said with a flourish of her hand. "Now, are you going to invite me in or make me stand in the hallway while you try to wrap your head around why I'm here?"

"I, uh, yeah…" Dick stuttered. He moved aside, opening the door wider to let her by. "Come on in."

"Always the gentleman," Noa muttered as she walked past him into the apartment. He shut the door behind her and followed in her footsteps as she ventured further inside.

"What, uh—what are you doing here, Noa?"

"Oh, you know. I always wanted to travel more and I thought, you know what, why not start with Detroit, the city of champions?"

"Noa…"

Rolling her eyes, she spun on her heels to face him. "God, you look the same, you walk the same, you even sound the same, but you're not, are you?"

Dick's jaw clenched for a moment. "No, I'm not."

"Well, that's… good to know, I guess. For future reference and all. Not that we'd have a future together. I just—"

"Noa," Dick repeated and she was grateful that he stopped her before she really started to rant. "Are you going to tell me why you're here?"

She wet her lips and pressed them into a thin line. She was hoping that he would have read the news before she got there so she wouldn't have to explain the situation for the umpteenth time.

"I thought you would have heard by now," Noa said.

"Heard what?"

"My grandfather's out of prison. He came back to Gotham and the dominoes started to fall just like before." Noa took a calming breath and continued. "We tried to stop him, me and Bruce, but he was always one step ahead of us. In the end, he had the means to blow our city half to hell. He would have done it if I didn't agree to leave it all behind: Gotham, Bruce, everything I know and love. He said if I dropped it all and left, so would he. With an ultimatum like that, I didn't really have a choice but to go."

"Jesus, I didn't—"

"It doesn't really matter now. That part of my life is over apparently," Noa said, her voice wavering under the weight of the truth. It was the first time she had addressed the idea head-on. She wanted to keep all emotion out of her conversation with Dick, but was failing miserably.

With a shake of her head, she tried to get back on track. "But the reason I'm here, Dick, is because… well, I don't have anywhere else to go. My grandfather's out of prison for two weeks and he manages to alienate me from everyone I know. I'm… completely alone and I could really use your help."

Refusing her would have been easier in theory, but as he looked at the girl he'd known for half his life, the urge to help her was too overwhelming. Dick swallowed hard and closed the distance between them with a few short steps. He took the bag from her shoulder and shook his head. "You're not alone. Not anymore."

"God, I almost forgot what it was like to share a bathroom with you." Noa smirked to herself when she heard Dick sigh from inside the apartment's single bathroom. She tilted her head back against the door frame and folded her arms over her chest. "How does it take you thirty minutes just to get dressed and throw some overpriced product in your hair?"

The door swung open suddenly and Noa stood up straight to face Dick. He was less than amused as he looked down at her. "Have you ever thought that maybe the reason I spent so much time in the bathroom is so that I could have one moment to myself?"

Noa narrowed her eyes, studying his face. "You're telling me that, as a teenage boy, you would just sit in the bathroom by yourself for half-an-hour, sometimes longer?"

"Yeah."

She scrunched of her nose disbelievingly as she pushed past him, patting him on his shoulder. "Well, I sure hope you had some fun with yourself today."

It took a minute too long for Dick to realize the meaning of her words. The door slammed shut just as he turned to deny her implications, but that didn't stop him from pounding his fist against it. "That's not what I meant and you know it!"

He prepared to bang on the door again, but it swung open before he could. Dick stepped back, taking in the sight of Noa, fully dressed with her hair suddenly braided over her shoulder. She smirked deviously when she saw the look on his face.

"I wouldn't think on it too hard. Don't want you to hurt yourself now."

Noa gave him one last pat on his shoulder before proceeding back to his bedroom, where she spent the night. Dick was generous enough to let her have his bed, but she could tell that his hospitality was already wearing thin. Apparently, in the 13 months he'd been living on his own, he'd gotten used to not having anyone around. His apartment was the definition of a bachelor pad with the large living room and small bedroom, sparsely decorated with personal items. That made it hard to believe that someone actually called the place home.

Dick followed her into the room, pulling on his jacket. "Look, I have to go to work, but we should talk about your situation when I get back."

"Work?" Noa quirked an eyebrow. "You're still a cop?"

"Detective and why do you sound so surprised?"

She shrugged. "I thought after everything that happened, you'd want to do something that takes you as far from the justice system as possible."

"Like what?"

"Maybe… ultimate fighting?" Noa couldn't help but laugh at the look that appeared on Dick's face. "I was kidding, but now I'm thinking that it might be good for you. It would give you a release for all that frustration without having beat up criminals."

Dick threw her a look. "I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't gone out since…"

Noa cocked her head suspiciously. "You honestly expect me to believe that you quit cold-turkey?"

"I did," Dick said as he pulled his badge out of the top drawer of his dresser. He clipped that and his gun to his belt before facing Noa again. "I know you like what we used to do with Bruce, but I was never meant to be that person."

Huffing a breath, Noa stood from the bed and walked over to him. She straightened his tie and pursed her lips as she met his gaze. "I could always tell when you were lying, Dick. At least that hasn't changed."

He caught the underlying meaning to her statement and a pang of guilt went through him. Of all the things he'd done, what he did to Noa was one of the worst. He placed a hand over hers, squeezing it lightly.

"I never meant—" He stopped when she pulled her hand out from under his and fell back a couple steps.

His gaze shifted to her eyes. They were tight at the corners as if from smiling, but it wasn't real. Her expression read like stone. "Stop, Dick. You're already late and this isn't the kind of conversation to have as you're running out the door. We can talk about it when you get home."

She waited about ten minutes after he left the loft to go to her car and retrieve the large suitcase from the trunk. Of course, she'd already looked inside when she got to the motel. Finding her Halo outfit didn't come as too much of a shock. Back in Gotham, Bruce had no choice but to sit by and watch as she gave up almost everything she knew. He wasn't going to let her sacrifice this part of herself though. Noa could only hope this was the right way to thank him, the man who had given her everything she could have ever wanted.

After years of practice, it took less than thirty seconds to slip into the dark suit that was equipped to help control her "condition". Noa pointed her hand to the opposite wall, and with the stabilization gauntlets, she was able to fire a single beam of light. She made sure to keep it at minimum strength as to not cause permanent damage to Dick's home, but it was enough to leave a light scorch mark behind. Running over to the wall, Noa wiped the spot with her hand until the residue was completely gone. With a heavy sigh, the corners of her lips curled into a small smirk.

Going out that night would have been the right thing, that she knew. The only part Noa worried about was Dick finding out. She knew where he stood with the nighttime vigilante lifestyle. If she did start working again as Halo, there was a chance that her only remaining friend could turn his back on her. Noa always believed it was worth the risk, to go out and fight crime every night by Batman's side. The question weighing on her mind this time was if becoming Halo again was worth possibly losing the boy she loved for a second time.