Disclaimer: YAY! the last disclaimer! I own nothing if you haven't figured it out yet. and I think I'll be cutting back on disclaimers in the future because I don't wanna burn up my creativity with them right now. =P

Well, this is it! hope you liked the ride. With this one down, I'll be working on others. Or not. *evil laugh*

Slade Plan B

Epilogue – Things Change

Bruce watched the video feed taken from security cameras around Gotham that night, analyzing each movement Robin made on the screen. It was just another hard night and the kid made quite a few mistakes. He had to identify them and correct them before the next time they went on patrol together.

"You could help."

He heard a disgruntled snort behind him, making him smirk as the other presence in the room came to the consol. "I was hoping to get the drop on you for once. Haven't managed that since I was… what, ten?"

The billionaire's smirk grew as his former protégé stepped up besides him, resting an arm on the top of the chair. He was tempted to tug on the young man's hair and demand a haircut once again, but Nightwing had remembered to pull it back this time.

Nightwing. Bruce shook his head at the thought. Count on Dick to pick the Kryptonian version of Batman as his new alias. The kid was rubbing his Superman fandom into his face, even if it was also partly flattery towards his mentor's persona. At least the man was now wearing something that hid himself better at night rather than a traffic light.

And yet there was still a brightly colored bird in Gotham. Guess Batman hadn't learned his own lesson.

"You didn't get me that time either," the older man teased. "I was just building your confidence."

"Great," the sarcasm in the acrobat's voice could be detected even by the bats above them. "Count on you to ruin a favored memory." Nightwing watched the kid in his old costume on the screens for a moment, a bit bitter. "You know, when you suggested I take a new name, I wasn't expecting you to fill in my old suit with some street punk."

"Did you want me to leave him where he was, alone?" The CEO eyed his old charge silently for a moment. The leader of the Titans was caught in his own words and didn't have a come back, a rarity for him. Bruce though knew the truth. Dick was just missing what he had and was having a hard time letting go of his old role. Just like how Bruce was having a hard time letting go of him.

He leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on either side while interlacing his fingers. "Jason was abandoned by his father before he was killed. His mother's death left him trying to survive on the streets. On Park Row. He managed on his own for a year before he had the gall to steal the tires off the batmobile.

"I think he has what it takes to fight this war." He gave the acrobat a knowing look. "Don't you?"

Nightwing twisted his lips in thought for a minute, glaring at the screens. He didn't hate the kid, but he wasn't convinced either. "He's got guts I'll admit that. But he screwed up that flip there."

He pointed to the screen near the center, then flashed his finger over to another. "And he needs to watch his feet there. That grip won't work for very long either. And can't he make himself smaller? That crouch isn't good to spring out of if he isn't lower to the ground."

"Hm. True. I'll be bringing those up after school." Bruce gave a knowing smirk to his ward. "You've gotten better at picking out mistakes."

"Have to when training new recruits." The Titan leader sat against one of the computer's keypads, one not active. He still stared at the screens as he folded his arms. "You wouldn't believe how many Titans have cycled through our tower. If we don't make contact with any new teenage heroes or metas, there's no telling what they'll become or who will attack them next. If we don't band together, we're pretty much toast."

"And your experience helps in this matter." He turned his chair to face him a little better.

"Well yeah," he tried to wave it off. "I've pretty much become everyone's… mentor."

Nightwing gave the man before him an annoyed glare as the realization came to full light. Bruce had his smile on, the one telling him he was laughing inside, and at his expense. Dick hated that smile. It was only good when it was directed at someone else. Clark usually. "You know, some days you just suck."

"I'm flattered." He motioned to the screens again. "As for Jason, I think he'd improve greatly if you'd take him under your wing once in a while."

The acrobat suddenly seemed hesitant, looking at the kid on the monitors with an element of fear on his face. "I don't know Bruce. I might not be much help with him. Might even…"

When his voice drifted off, the older man raised an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted a younger brother. Someone you could talk to and pull things with."

"I do," Nightwing admitted, still holding back. "I just… Maybe I've set the bar too high? He doesn't exactly like me much. And every other time I try to talk to him, I just don't know what to say. He's only called me twice at the tower. And…"

He looked away, withdrawing himself with his hesitation. "I just think he's better off just learning from you."

Bruce watched and read the young man's body language best he could. Something was wrong and the guy wanted to talk. Moving slowly to not startle him, the CEO turned off his computer and turned his full attention to his charge. "What happened?"

Nightwing kept his gaze on the floor now, not sure what to say. Bruce patiently waited for him to start, knowing he wouldn't stay silent for long. He couldn't. No matter what happened, Dick just did not do quiet. He had to have noise of some sort or he'd explode.

Finally he opened his mouth. "Slade's back."

The detective took a deep breath before speaking. "Have you seen him?"

He shook his head, one hand rubbing his arm. "Not yet, but I checked with Interpol and they said he escaped about two months ago. He tricked their systems to believe he was still there until now."

His mentor grunted, settling back in his chair. "Are there any hints that he's in Jump? Any cases with his MO?"

"Not that I've seen. He might have gone underground or…" Nightwing looked hesitantly over to the screens again. Though now black, Bruce could guess what he was seeing in his head.

"You think he might try going after Jason."

"Yes? No? I don't know." Dick pushed off against the computer and started pacing, occasionally running a hand through his hair. "I couldn't ever predict his next move. He may go after Robin or after me, or even you! You really ticked him off with that mind trick of yours. And I know he hates me for making him lose before and bringing you in last time. He may go after Jay because he's running around in my old uniform, or just to spite me. He knows how much I care about everyone and he'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants. He'll probably go after blood this time instead of an apprentice. He may—"

"Dick calm down."

Bruce's order only managed to get the young man's attention, making him stop his movements for a minute or more. The dark knight gazed upon his grown boy with concern. He usually didn't panic like this. "He may not even be in the country right now."

"But he's—"

"It's been over a year Dick." He rose from his chair and approached his boy, trying to calm him. "Things have changed. You've changed. You're much stronger than you were back then. You know how to fight him now. And you can fight him."

Nightwing's eyes jerked back and forth behind his mask but he couldn't bring himself to run. Bruce knew the man wanted to escape, and to fight as soon as possible, but he wouldn't. Despite the months of recovery he had at the manor, and the many more he spent abroad or with his team, Dick still had nightmares about what happened to him back then. His body had healed, but his mind was still damaged. It would take a confrontation with Slade to really heal it. And he wasn't quite ready yet.

It was feelings like these that drove him to come to the cave again and seek out the safety and comfort Bruce provided. In short, Dick was scared of Slade. He couldn't face him yet. He could face Two-Face and Joker and even a million more villains that hurt him in the past, but Slade's mark still lingered. He needed more time. More time and a few more victories, before he could bring himself to confront the man. And confront him he will.

Flying Graysons didn't stay scared of anything. That was how they could keep flying back in the day. And Nightwing would soar.

But right then, he was a scared kid who needed his father.

While Bruce was content to just place a hand on the young man's shoulder for comfort and repeating what he had said before, Nightwing dived into his arms and hung on to him for dear life. The CEO awkwardly stood there for a moment before resting his arms around the guy shaking slightly on him. He rubbed the young hero's back for a few minutes, helping him calm down like always.

"It'll be alright," he stated evenly. "You'll beat him before you know it."

"You'll be there to back me up though right?" Though he had grown some in the past year, Nightwing still had to look up to see his mentor nod.

"Always."

This brought the much needed relief and smile to the former boy wonder. Slowly he eased out of the bigger man's arms, smiling to himself. Bruce made eye contact before restating his newer policies. "Just don't forget to call in once a week or I will come after you whether you like it or not."

The acrobat laughed. "I won't forget."

"Good. Now, about Jason."

Nightwing continued to laugh. Bats was back to business, forcing both of them to move past that particular trauma, and right then his business was all about the new Robin. It was good to know the man cared about his partners, and would always back them up, no matter how far they strayed.

No matter what, if they couldn't handle it, Batman would always be their Plan B.

END

A/N: thank you thank you thank you. *bows dramatically* it is so good to see this one OVER! Seriously, even though 'Fear Toxin' was my first fanfic I posted here, this guy predates it on my compy. I've done over forty others since then, some of them long series and others mini-series, but mostly one-shots. Getting this bad boy done is one of the biggest reliefs of my life. What held me up you might ask? Doing research and fight scenes. I tend to avoid both if I can, but with so much background with all these characters, I have to do some. Plus I did write how many other stories again? XP

So, a short recap shall we? Slade goes after Robin, blackmailing him to be his 'apprentice' through Haley Circus. Robin has a Plan B. Almost half the story is a TT series recap and how Bats and Rob interpret it for this scenario. Then Bats finds out Robin's really missing and calls in some help to save his boy wonder. He meets Titans, gets clues, then goes off to save circus! Then he goes off with Titans to save Robin, who's getting near his breaking point from all the things Slade put him through. Supes actually gets Robin out of there while Titans fight robots and Bats beats up Slade. They go to watchtower, boobytrap Slade's mind, and Bats and Rob start to reconcile. Ends with flash forward to future where Jason is Robin and Slade has escaped. Nightwing little scared from all of this (YAY! TRAUMA!) and wants a little reassurance that what happened once won't happen again. End story.

Always planned to end it with Jason being Robin and Dick being a little worried about what will happen to him if Slade comes back. Didn't intend to make it so fluffy really. Guess all my time writing YJ stories made the dark knight not near as dark as he could be. Sorry about that. I love writing DaddyBats.

Also, sorry about not having a lot of time with the Titans. It really is more of a Batman/Robin story isn't it. =P Oh well. My next Teen Titan fic I've got planned all takes place in Jump so they'll have a lot more screen time.

Again, thanks for tolerating me so much! Since there really isn't much TT going on in here besides general plotline, this is staying in crossovers. Not as many readers but oh well. I've enjoyed writing an older, angstier Dick Grayson, but I really do prefer a younger smart-alecky one instead. I still made him too clingy for TT in my opinion, but I'll do better with the next one.

Until then, TTFN!