Categories > Cartoons > Teen Titans > Tales from Titans' Tower
A Super Meeting
A Teen Titans fic by DrT
*
Robin has a slightly surprising visitor
*
This characters in this story are the property of DC Comics and the various licensees, no infringement is intended; I’m just playing. The stories concerns the Teen Titan characters from the 2003-2006 animated show, not the many other versions.
Continuity – shortly after Raven’s defeat of Trigon.
*
Patrolling a city alone at night is a potentially dangerous situation for any of the so-called ‘super heroes’ – leaving out the usual dangers inherent to the job, night patrol, especially for those without extra powers, means being alone if you make a mistake, with less chance of being observed and, if necessary, helped. Leaping and using various grapples to get from building to building is a dangerous stunt, and many a wannabe hero’s career was cut short early on by an accident: a misjudged leap, a rope or grapple with an unseen defect. Even Batman has had such accidents, he has so far merely avoided serious injury by chance.
Still, there was an allure to such night time patrols, and Robin was indulging himself a bit. Early on, the other Titans had ganged up on him, and he no longer goes on these patrols without letting them know he is out, and with his communicator switched to fully monitor his condition. Should he run into any trouble, he knows Raven or Starfire with be with him within minutes.
Robin made his way to one of Jump City’s taller buildings and took a break over at the further edge where he could look out over towards Titans’ Tower. He stretched for a few moments, and then asked in a normal voice, “Are you going to keep following me around, or will you come and talk?”
He turned around, and a large figure landed about twenty feet away. “How did you know I was here?” the caped man asked.
“Ask the man who taught me,” Robin teased with a small smile. “How are you doing, Superman? It’s been a while.”
“It has,” Superman agreed. “Almost four years.”
“Do I have to ask why you’re here? Or should I just wonder why you and not someone else?”
“Robin, the world, maybe the universe, almost ended two days ago. You can’t be surprised that we’re interested.”
“True. Was there a problem with my report? This sort of thing is why I make certain the Justice League gets them – although since I wouldn’t be surprised if Batman hasn’t hacked our system, no matter how hard Cyborg and I try to keep him out, you’d likely get them anyway.”
“You write very thorough reports, we even use some of them to point out to more than a few League members how they can improve their own.” He decided to get back on topic. “Did you know that Raven approached the League before coming to Jump?”
“I didn’t at first. All four of us have gotten to know each other better over the years, and have trusted such stories with each other as needed. And you know we let the League know when Raven was Marked, and you know that even if Raven didn’t tell us that morning what was coming, she did let Doctor Fate know, and I presume he set in motion whatever plans you had.”
“He did. Do you know why Raven didn’t tell her team it was the day?”
Robin nodded. “She figured that there really was nothing she could do – or you or us for that matter – that the Prophecy would come true no matter what. Having us fight it would just mean a longer period of suffering for us. She only notified Fate as a gesture; she never thought it would matter but I had made her promise. By the time I knew it was the day, no communications were getting out.” Robin’s eyes dropped. “She tried her best to make our last day a good one, because she felt it really would be the universe’s last day. When we insisted on fighting anyway, she protected us and that was what allowed us to win.” Robin looked Superman in the eye. “Us to win, not you.”
“Like you, like Raven for that matter, we anticipated the invasion and we think we were prepared. No one realized that Trigon would be able to take temporal control as he did,” Superman acknowledged. “So, Raven didn’t betray the world, or you?”
“No, she didn’t,” Robin stated firmly. “Think about it: Raven was conditioned to believe that the Prophecy had to happen. Even the people of Azarath, who had driven Trigon back to his realm once, believed it was going to happen. Does even Batman believe she could have overcome a lifetime of conditioning? That she tried to find a way, and found it blocked by the League and then attacked by you. . . .”
“Only by Zatanna,” Superman broke in.
“Zatanna was stopped but not even reprimanded, at least as far as Raven saw,” Robin shot back. “Raven resisted Slade when he Marked her – I was there. She tried; in a sense she failed, but she did try. She saved us by giving in, which allowed us to delay Trigon just enough for her to recover her powers and drive Trigon out, restoring the world. No one died; hell no one except the five of us and maybe Slade were so much as bruised. Yes, it was a close call, but in the end, you League members judge yourselves primarily by being successful within moral guidelines. She met your standards – are you going to apply another set to her?”
Superman didn’t answer immediately, so Robin asked, “Okay, I guess some at least have double standards here. So, are you, Superman, condemning Raven for being a victim of prophecy and in the end overcoming that prophecy?”
“An interesting point, and one you mentioned but maybe should have put more emphasis on,” Superman mused. “The part about her having to fulfill a prophecy and only then being able to overcome it.”
“I guess I should have; it didn’t occur to me to put it quite that way,” Robin admitted.
Superman smiled. “I understand, and to answer your question, no – Raven still worries me, but I’m on her side in this. The circumstances have been different, but I’ve had to make similar decisions over the years. I wasn’t always right, and you were also right to point out that Raven met the minimum League standards in all this.”
Robin glared a bit.
“Alright, she easily met those standards.”
“Is Batman pushing?”
“To punish Raven or hold her accountable for anything? No, he’s always been the one pushing to leave her alone. He’s always said you are more than capable of dealing with any problems, including any Raven might cause.”
Robin flushed a bit at hearing that. He and his mentor had only recently reconciled to a degree; when he had come there, they weren’t even talking, and yet Batman had still defended him to the League.
“Wonder Woman has always been in your team’s corner on this issue as well,” Superman remarked.
Robin relaxed slightly. If Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman were in agreement, any dissenters within the League would have a difficult time attacking Raven or the Titans in general on this. Still, “So who is pushing, besides Zatanna? Besides the Question at any rate.” The Question actually did question almost everything. “Hawkgirl?”
“Zatanna is pushing, and has brought Raven up more than a few times over the last four years. Hawkgirl doesn’t really trust anyone with mystical powers, but she hasn’t said much about Raven’s situation other than agreeing we needed to keep an eye on things, and most of the more technologically inclined, like Mister Terrific, have agreed. Etrigan has echoed Zatanna, but Doctor Fate has been more neutral, and to be honest, Wonder Woman, Flash, and I tend to pay more attention to his opinions than to Zatanna or Etrigan.”
“And Batman?”
Superman gave Robin a crooked smile. “Does anyone really know how he thinks?”
“Well, if you or I don’t, then I guess not,” Robin retorted.
“True, but to finish answering your question, Barda and to a lesser degree Mister Miracle and Orion have been Zatanna’s most vocal supporters. Apparently Darkseid’s forces had a run-in with Trigon’s a long time ago, and were mauled.”
Robin made a face, but asked, “So what happens next?”
“I’m here to pass on the message that there won’t be any official repercussions, and many of us are satisfied that now that Raven has fulfilled the Prophecy. Still, we think Raven needs to meet with Doctor Fate to help understand if there are any residual connections that Trigon might be able to exploit. He might have been defeated and exiled from our universe, but he wasn’t destroyed. Even if he can no longer use Raven directly, which is what we hope, he will likely want to stage a comeback, and Raven could be used as part of that. And even if she isn’t, beings like Trigon don’t tolerate this type of defeat – either he’ll try and use Raven again, or target her early on.”
“I’ll let her know. I think we’d be more comfortable if Fate came here than letting her go meet him someplace. She needs our direct support, if nothing else.”
“I’ll be sure to pass it on.” Superman hesitated, and then asked, “Is there anything else I should pass on to anyone?”
“The League should continue to stay out of our city, like before,” Robin said firmly, but then added, “And I’ll send Batman a note, thanking him for his support. And thank you for yours, too.”
This last was said very sincerely. “You’ve very welcome. Send Diana a note, too.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the three League members supporting us are the ones who actually know me.”
“That was true four years ago. Aquaman and Green Arrow are glad to see how well Titans East is doing.”
“Good point. Thanks for stopping by, but you should have come to the Tower. Considering his time in the Doom Patrol, Beast Boy isn’t impressed by many heroes, but I know he’d like your autograph.”
Superman shook his head, but said, “Tell him to send me his, and I’ll send one back.”
Robin laughed. “That’ll shock him.” Robin looked pensive for a moment, and then said, “I’m sorry if I didn’t respond very well your messages after I came here. I am grateful for all your support.”
Superman finally gave Robin a warm smile. “Again, you’re welcome; and remember, you can send personal messages to any of us in the League. Don’t be a stranger. Batman, Diana, and I aren’t the only ones who would like hearing from you.”
“Thanks,” Robin replied, gratefully.
Superman waved and took off.
Robin merely stayed on the roof until Superman was out of sight. Then he simply said, “Did you hear all of that?”
Raven’s soul self manifested for a moment, leaving Raven standing behind him. “Most of it,” she acknowledged. “I admit, I was expecting worse.”
Robin turned to her. “It will be alright.”
“Well, I suppose there is always hope,” she answered quietly. She started to turn, but then asked, “Are you staying out all night, or can I give you a ride home?”
Robin thought a moment and said, “Let’s go home.”
Raven stepped back towards Robin, and Dark Energy surrounded the pair. When it disappeared, the roof top was again empty.
A Teen Titans fic by DrT
*
Robin has a slightly surprising visitor
*
This characters in this story are the property of DC Comics and the various licensees, no infringement is intended; I’m just playing. The stories concerns the Teen Titan characters from the 2003-2006 animated show, not the many other versions.
Continuity – shortly after Raven’s defeat of Trigon.
*
Patrolling a city alone at night is a potentially dangerous situation for any of the so-called ‘super heroes’ – leaving out the usual dangers inherent to the job, night patrol, especially for those without extra powers, means being alone if you make a mistake, with less chance of being observed and, if necessary, helped. Leaping and using various grapples to get from building to building is a dangerous stunt, and many a wannabe hero’s career was cut short early on by an accident: a misjudged leap, a rope or grapple with an unseen defect. Even Batman has had such accidents, he has so far merely avoided serious injury by chance.
Still, there was an allure to such night time patrols, and Robin was indulging himself a bit. Early on, the other Titans had ganged up on him, and he no longer goes on these patrols without letting them know he is out, and with his communicator switched to fully monitor his condition. Should he run into any trouble, he knows Raven or Starfire with be with him within minutes.
Robin made his way to one of Jump City’s taller buildings and took a break over at the further edge where he could look out over towards Titans’ Tower. He stretched for a few moments, and then asked in a normal voice, “Are you going to keep following me around, or will you come and talk?”
He turned around, and a large figure landed about twenty feet away. “How did you know I was here?” the caped man asked.
“Ask the man who taught me,” Robin teased with a small smile. “How are you doing, Superman? It’s been a while.”
“It has,” Superman agreed. “Almost four years.”
“Do I have to ask why you’re here? Or should I just wonder why you and not someone else?”
“Robin, the world, maybe the universe, almost ended two days ago. You can’t be surprised that we’re interested.”
“True. Was there a problem with my report? This sort of thing is why I make certain the Justice League gets them – although since I wouldn’t be surprised if Batman hasn’t hacked our system, no matter how hard Cyborg and I try to keep him out, you’d likely get them anyway.”
“You write very thorough reports, we even use some of them to point out to more than a few League members how they can improve their own.” He decided to get back on topic. “Did you know that Raven approached the League before coming to Jump?”
“I didn’t at first. All four of us have gotten to know each other better over the years, and have trusted such stories with each other as needed. And you know we let the League know when Raven was Marked, and you know that even if Raven didn’t tell us that morning what was coming, she did let Doctor Fate know, and I presume he set in motion whatever plans you had.”
“He did. Do you know why Raven didn’t tell her team it was the day?”
Robin nodded. “She figured that there really was nothing she could do – or you or us for that matter – that the Prophecy would come true no matter what. Having us fight it would just mean a longer period of suffering for us. She only notified Fate as a gesture; she never thought it would matter but I had made her promise. By the time I knew it was the day, no communications were getting out.” Robin’s eyes dropped. “She tried her best to make our last day a good one, because she felt it really would be the universe’s last day. When we insisted on fighting anyway, she protected us and that was what allowed us to win.” Robin looked Superman in the eye. “Us to win, not you.”
“Like you, like Raven for that matter, we anticipated the invasion and we think we were prepared. No one realized that Trigon would be able to take temporal control as he did,” Superman acknowledged. “So, Raven didn’t betray the world, or you?”
“No, she didn’t,” Robin stated firmly. “Think about it: Raven was conditioned to believe that the Prophecy had to happen. Even the people of Azarath, who had driven Trigon back to his realm once, believed it was going to happen. Does even Batman believe she could have overcome a lifetime of conditioning? That she tried to find a way, and found it blocked by the League and then attacked by you. . . .”
“Only by Zatanna,” Superman broke in.
“Zatanna was stopped but not even reprimanded, at least as far as Raven saw,” Robin shot back. “Raven resisted Slade when he Marked her – I was there. She tried; in a sense she failed, but she did try. She saved us by giving in, which allowed us to delay Trigon just enough for her to recover her powers and drive Trigon out, restoring the world. No one died; hell no one except the five of us and maybe Slade were so much as bruised. Yes, it was a close call, but in the end, you League members judge yourselves primarily by being successful within moral guidelines. She met your standards – are you going to apply another set to her?”
Superman didn’t answer immediately, so Robin asked, “Okay, I guess some at least have double standards here. So, are you, Superman, condemning Raven for being a victim of prophecy and in the end overcoming that prophecy?”
“An interesting point, and one you mentioned but maybe should have put more emphasis on,” Superman mused. “The part about her having to fulfill a prophecy and only then being able to overcome it.”
“I guess I should have; it didn’t occur to me to put it quite that way,” Robin admitted.
Superman smiled. “I understand, and to answer your question, no – Raven still worries me, but I’m on her side in this. The circumstances have been different, but I’ve had to make similar decisions over the years. I wasn’t always right, and you were also right to point out that Raven met the minimum League standards in all this.”
Robin glared a bit.
“Alright, she easily met those standards.”
“Is Batman pushing?”
“To punish Raven or hold her accountable for anything? No, he’s always been the one pushing to leave her alone. He’s always said you are more than capable of dealing with any problems, including any Raven might cause.”
Robin flushed a bit at hearing that. He and his mentor had only recently reconciled to a degree; when he had come there, they weren’t even talking, and yet Batman had still defended him to the League.
“Wonder Woman has always been in your team’s corner on this issue as well,” Superman remarked.
Robin relaxed slightly. If Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman were in agreement, any dissenters within the League would have a difficult time attacking Raven or the Titans in general on this. Still, “So who is pushing, besides Zatanna? Besides the Question at any rate.” The Question actually did question almost everything. “Hawkgirl?”
“Zatanna is pushing, and has brought Raven up more than a few times over the last four years. Hawkgirl doesn’t really trust anyone with mystical powers, but she hasn’t said much about Raven’s situation other than agreeing we needed to keep an eye on things, and most of the more technologically inclined, like Mister Terrific, have agreed. Etrigan has echoed Zatanna, but Doctor Fate has been more neutral, and to be honest, Wonder Woman, Flash, and I tend to pay more attention to his opinions than to Zatanna or Etrigan.”
“And Batman?”
Superman gave Robin a crooked smile. “Does anyone really know how he thinks?”
“Well, if you or I don’t, then I guess not,” Robin retorted.
“True, but to finish answering your question, Barda and to a lesser degree Mister Miracle and Orion have been Zatanna’s most vocal supporters. Apparently Darkseid’s forces had a run-in with Trigon’s a long time ago, and were mauled.”
Robin made a face, but asked, “So what happens next?”
“I’m here to pass on the message that there won’t be any official repercussions, and many of us are satisfied that now that Raven has fulfilled the Prophecy. Still, we think Raven needs to meet with Doctor Fate to help understand if there are any residual connections that Trigon might be able to exploit. He might have been defeated and exiled from our universe, but he wasn’t destroyed. Even if he can no longer use Raven directly, which is what we hope, he will likely want to stage a comeback, and Raven could be used as part of that. And even if she isn’t, beings like Trigon don’t tolerate this type of defeat – either he’ll try and use Raven again, or target her early on.”
“I’ll let her know. I think we’d be more comfortable if Fate came here than letting her go meet him someplace. She needs our direct support, if nothing else.”
“I’ll be sure to pass it on.” Superman hesitated, and then asked, “Is there anything else I should pass on to anyone?”
“The League should continue to stay out of our city, like before,” Robin said firmly, but then added, “And I’ll send Batman a note, thanking him for his support. And thank you for yours, too.”
This last was said very sincerely. “You’ve very welcome. Send Diana a note, too.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the three League members supporting us are the ones who actually know me.”
“That was true four years ago. Aquaman and Green Arrow are glad to see how well Titans East is doing.”
“Good point. Thanks for stopping by, but you should have come to the Tower. Considering his time in the Doom Patrol, Beast Boy isn’t impressed by many heroes, but I know he’d like your autograph.”
Superman shook his head, but said, “Tell him to send me his, and I’ll send one back.”
Robin laughed. “That’ll shock him.” Robin looked pensive for a moment, and then said, “I’m sorry if I didn’t respond very well your messages after I came here. I am grateful for all your support.”
Superman finally gave Robin a warm smile. “Again, you’re welcome; and remember, you can send personal messages to any of us in the League. Don’t be a stranger. Batman, Diana, and I aren’t the only ones who would like hearing from you.”
“Thanks,” Robin replied, gratefully.
Superman waved and took off.
Robin merely stayed on the roof until Superman was out of sight. Then he simply said, “Did you hear all of that?”
Raven’s soul self manifested for a moment, leaving Raven standing behind him. “Most of it,” she acknowledged. “I admit, I was expecting worse.”
Robin turned to her. “It will be alright.”
“Well, I suppose there is always hope,” she answered quietly. She started to turn, but then asked, “Are you staying out all night, or can I give you a ride home?”
Robin thought a moment and said, “Let’s go home.”
Raven stepped back towards Robin, and Dark Energy surrounded the pair. When it disappeared, the roof top was again empty.
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