Robin POV 

  Shifting in his seat, Dick tried to form words of comfort to soothe the man in front of him. Logically, he was torn between feeling pity for Slade and feeling repulsed at the graphic nature of the man's past. On one hand, Dick was sickened at the thought of Slade trauma bonding with a boy he didn't even know through the eventful death and mutilations of his children. Slade needed professional medical help and a lot of relationship counseling, this much was true. But coming from a boy who quite literally dawned a bird persona to avenge the death of his parents through the help of his maybe-sorta adopted bat-father, such information would probably  come off as slightly hypocritical. But on the other hand, hearing how Slade had struggled getting into the army, had a tough home life, genuinely fell in love, made mistakes, and even considered ending it all out of grief, sobered and confused Dick. It painted the man in a new shade of humanity that Dick hadn't seen from him before. What if Slade's violent tendencies and restlessness were a result of the experimental testing altering his brain chemistry? Was Slade really just a sick man learning how to 'love' again? Should the army have put in better regulations to stop tragedies like Slade's from happening instead of shutting down the experiment and pretending nothing ever happened? What if the chemicals used to 'enhance' the soldiers had been given to a wider testing audience. How many lives would have been lost and how many would have ended up as cold killing machines? Who's fault would it be if something like that were to happen? 

  "Slade, I-" Dick gripped the sides of his suit, his knuckles turning white with pent up emotion. "I'm sorry that happened to you. You didn't deserve that." Slade's eye widened for a moment, before he turned away. "Everything that happened, it was my fault Dickie. You shouldn't feel sorry for me." He chuckled, weakly. "It wouldn't do either of us much good, would it?" Dick shifted his gaze to his lap. "No, sir. I guess it wouldn't." "Besides, I'm not the only one with a dark past, am I Richard?" Dick felt a chill run down his spine at Slade's words. Dick knew that Slade knew most of his backstory, but to admit it out loud seemed different. It seemed more personal that way. Reaching his slender fingers to the tip of his mask, Dick held his breath. Slipping the protective material away, Dick let his mask drop to his lap. An audible gasp could be heard from Slade, but Robin couldn't bear to meet his gaze. "I guess we're both full of surprises tonight, aren't we?" Glancing over to check his expression, Dick was surprised to see the older man removing his own layer of protection. The man was pale, but his face was filled with various age spots and scars to indicate years in the sun. His hair was whiter than Wintergreen's and he had a goatee to match it. His lips were thinly pulled together as a gentle smile. "You're eyes are bluer than they said." Slade remarked. "Your hair makes you look super old. Like- ancient old." Slade laughed at that. "You better watch it. I'll send you to bed in that pudding soaked suit and let you prune overnight." Slade threatened playfully, but there was no malice behind it. 

  Pulling out a long sleeved, flannel, adult one piece, Slade handed it over to Robin before turning around so he could change. Dick quickly did so, thankful for the privacy. Slipping into the suit, and zipping it up, a sneaky idea popped into Dick's brain. While Slade's back was turned, the boy silently stalked forward, taking full advantage of this limited opportunity. Suddenly springing forward, Dick lunged at Slade's sides, attempting to shock him. However, much to Dick's disappointment, before he could reach his opponent, Slade was turning around, grabbing Dick and flipping him up into the air. Catching the younger boy, Slade launched a fury of pinches and pokes to Dick's sides and tummy. "I turn my back for one second and you think you're the king of the world, huh?" Dick squealed and kicked, his little legs flailing in the air. "Hohow dihid youhou knohohow?" He giggled out. "Little Dickie, I know everything." Swinging Dick up onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, Slade began to twirl around in circles. "Just like I know it's past your bedtime." Kicking his little legs in the air, Dick whined, fully in headspace at this point.

   "Nohoho S'aade. No bedtime. Up forever!" Walking into Dick's bedroom, he dumped the little one onto the bed before covering him up with blankets, which Dick tried his best to kick off.  "Not tired. Too old for a bedtime." "Is that so?" "Mhm!" Dick eagerly nodded his head up and down for emphasis. "How old do you think you are?" Slade asked, genuinely curious. Dick tapped his chin in thought. "I feel six I think." Slade's eyebrows rose slightly. "Well then, that's much older than you were earlier." Dick grinned, hopeful he'd be able to stay up and play with Slade. Truthfully, he was afraid to go to sleep in fear that this act of kindness would have all been a dream. "Unfortunately for you, apprentices of any age must go to bed by 10:00 and it's almost 10:30." Dick whined a little, throwing his head back onto the pillow, but allowing himself to be covered up with the fallen blankets regardless. "But I'm still not sleeeppy." Slade sighed, feeling himself growing impatient. What would he have done with Grant at this age? Suddenly, an idea popped into his head and Slade mentally facepalmed at not thinking of it sooner. "Dickie, would you like me to sing to you? Would that help you sleep?" Dick gasped, his little hands wriggling in excitement. "You can sing?" Slade chuckled, bowing his head. "Not very well, but I don't have any stories to read to you that would be appropriate at this age and-" "Sing, p'ease." Ruffling Dick's hair, Slade smiled. 

"Baby mine, don't you cry; Baby mine, dry your eyes.
Rest your head close to my heart, Never to part, baby of mine.
Little one, when you play, Pay no heed what they say.
Let your eyes sparkle and shine, Never a tear, baby of mine.If they knew all about you, They'd end up loving you, too.
All those same people who scold you, What they'd give just for the right to hold you.From your head down to your toes, You're not much, goodness knows.
But, you're so precious to me, Sweet as can be, baby of mine."

  Slade's deep bass voice slowed to a stop, his fingers entangled in Dick's hair, his thumb brushing loose strands from Dick's face. Dick looked so peaceful there, sleeping like a baby, his eyelids fluttering with dreams. Slade felt the urge to stay there forever. Still, as he made his way to his room, Slade felt a sense of accomplishment wash over him. He opened up to Dick and Dick reciprocated. Such was an amazing accomplishment for Slade. Laying down and quickly falling asleep himself, Slade fell into a peaceful slumber within half an hour. Richard on the other hand, was not facing such a tranquil situation. In the time it took for Slade to fall asleep, Dick began to plummet. Wriggling with the words of Slade's past, Dick tossed and turned restlessly. His forehead was moistened with sweat, his fists tightened, arms flailing. His body outwardly searched for comfort, throwing his slender frame from side to side, as if he was attempting running away from the dream entirely. 

Dick's Dream POV

  It was dark. Everywhere he turned, all he could see was dark. Fumbling and stumbling through an endless hallway of dark corridors, a faint light shining just out of reach. "Slade, Bruce, Titans, anyone?" Robin tried to scream but his voice only came out as a whisper. "BRUCE, STARFIRE, BEASTBOY!" Dick howled as loud as he could, but as soon as the words left his throat, they were no louder than a shrew's. What was wrong with him? Looking down, Robin clumsily felt his fingers over his throat only to find a large bloody gash where his vocal chords used to be. Suddenly, a mirror appeared in front of him, allowing Dick to view the bodily horror fully. Blood dripped from his throat from where his throat had been sliced. The longer he stared at his reflection, the more it seemed to shift. Until he was no longer staring at himself anymore. He was staring at Joey. At least, what Dick imagined Joey to look like. "Robin, you weak, pathetic, little shit, where the hell are you?" A dark growly voice called out from the darkness. Sprinting forward, Dick raced down endless corridors, but no matter how far he ran, the presence of the voice felt as if it were right behind him. "Come now Robin, you can run from Bruce, you can run from your past, and you can even try and run away from Slade, but you can't run away from me, little one." This was it. The end of the hallway. Dick had run right into a dead end. Spinning around, Dick balled his fists to face his mystery opponent. There out of the shadows, stepped Antonio Zucco, his manic smile painted across his face, mimicking the joker. He was holding a crow bar bar, dripping with freshly spilled blood. "Come now, Slade, did you really think we'd let you refuse a deal to kill off the Titans? You know the agency always gets what we want." Zucco aimed a gun at his eye, laughing wildly as his finger played with the trigger. "Any last words, kid?" "Please, I didn't do anything wrong. I just want to go home. I'll do anything!" BANG

Raven POV

  Something was wrong. Raven could feel it. She'd been meditating in her room as usual, attempting to create a mind link between the tower and wherever Slade was keeping Robin. Lately she'd begun to loose hope, but couldn't stop herself from trying when each passing day seemed to weigh on the team like a sack of bricks. Everyone missed their leader. Starfire could barely manage a hover with her powers being emotionally driven. Cyborg was constantly preoccupied and Beastboy had stopped cracking jokes all together. No one had heard a word back from Batman. Not only that, but no one seemed to have any speck of a clue about where Robin may be hiding or whether or not he was even alive. Up until tonight. 

  Focusing on the distress signal, Raven was able to transfer her body into the mind of the distressed. Everything was dark. It seemed that whoever was reaching out to Raven was in the middle of a nightmare. No. A night terror. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." Clearing away what appeared to be a maze, Raven was able to see Robin facing off a man who looked to be some version of the joker. Pushing herself further into Robin's brain, like an inchworm through soil, Raven attempted to access Robin's most recent memories. She might only have a few moments before Robin awakened, and then she would be pushed from his mind. "Hurry, Rae. This is for Robin." She urged herself. Sorting through mental images, Raven saw what looked to be a compound. "He's underground." There were a few names that kept popping up. "Slade Wilson and William Wintergreen. These must be the people that are holding him captive. But it doesn't show that the body is injured in any major way. How are they possibly holding him hostage?" 

  Searching for the day he disappeared, Raven played back the most revisited memory. It seemed that Robin thought back to this moment frequently. Meaning it was of some kind of importance. "For some time now, I have been searching for... an apprentice. Someone to follow in my footsteps. And, Robin, I've chosen you . Congratulations. You are going to become an apprentice, a son, a ward , to me. To me. And you will serve as my apprentice until I, your leader, say otherwise." "And why the hell would I ever do something as incredulously ridiculous as- as that?" "Because, Robin. See your friends there? That gun there, just fired Nanoscopic Probes into the blood systems of each and every single one of your little Titan friends. The probes, when activated, can kill the person who has them in their blood. If you join me, if you swear to serve me, if you never speak to your friends again, I will allow them to live. But, if you disobey, even the smallest request, I will annihilate them, Robin, and I'll make you watch. I know it seems bad now, but trust me. You'll learn ... learn to like it." Raven gasped, visually checking herself over. Was it true? Was Robin acting as Slade's apprentice willingly  to try and save them the pain of a force lying in wait? Launching backwards, Raven was pulled from Robin's memories, and sent flying backwards out of his brain. Robin was waking up. She had to go tell the others.  

 Dick POV

  "SLADE!" Shooting up with a start, Dick felt his whole body shaking. Everything was soaked with either sweat or urine. Nothing made any sense. It was so dark. His brain was like a maze. Was he Joey- or- or was he Slade? Zucco was there. He was going to kill Dick just like he killed his parents. Another dead Robin. Just like Jason. He was going to die here. Die being nothing more than Slade's little plaything. He was in danger. He had to get out. He- Rushing into the room, Slade practically shattered the door with the strength pulsing through his veins. And suddenly all the power Dick had melted away when Slade began frantically searching from side to side, checking for intruders who had come to harm his son. "S-Slade!" Making grabby hands for the older man, Dickie sobbed, tears and snot streaming down his cheeks. "They-They're coming to get me, Slade! They're com-coming to-to get meee!" 

  Slade's eyes visibly softened, swiftly walking over to Dick, picking him up by the underarms, before bringing him to his chest. "Shh, shh Dick. It was a dream, child. Only a dream." Rocking Dick back and forth in his arms, Slade pet his back, rubbing circles with the back of his palm. Bringing him into the nursery, Slade continued to soothe and bounce the younger boy in his arms. "Sh, sh, sh. That's it. Deep breaths. I'm here now. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." "Bu-But what abou-" "I'm not going to let anything happen to my little apprentice. Never again, little Dickie. I'd give up my life before I let you come to harm. Do you understand?" Dick nodded his head, desperately trying to wipe away his tears through his hiccuping and shaking. "Ye-es sir-ir." Setting Dick down on the changing table, Slade quickly stripped him of his soiled clothes, before pulling out an adult sized pull up. Dick found himself whining at the lack of clothing, but was far too tired to fight it. Slipping the pull up over his legs and bottom, Slade then drew a cotton one piece from the bottom drawer. "Arms up, Dickie." Pulling the fabric over his head, Slade tugged it over his tummy and sides before buttoning it up at the crotch. "There. That should be soft but breathable." 

  Lifting the boy into the air, Slade comforted Dick, brushing his fingers through the boy's slimy sweat filled hair. Continuing to bounce Dick in his arms, Slade whispered sweet nothing's in his ears, as he rubbed circles on the small of Dick's back. "That's it. Calm down. I've got you now. I'm not going anywhere. Daddy's got you." The words left Slade's mouth before he realized what he was saying. Choking on his spit, Slade frantically looked down, checking to see Dick's reaction, or rather, lack of. Thankfully or unfortunately, depending on who you asked, Dick didn't seem to notice the slip up at all. Instead, the boy was far too preoccupied with keeping his eyes open, as they seemed to grow heavier by the minute. Gently dropping Dick into the crib, Slade swallowed the lump of spit that had gathered at the back of his throat. He was going to protect his little one. And no one was ever going to take him away. Not on his watch.