Teen Titans One-Shots

Hide My Wings

  Set before the Apprentice episodes...,

Sometimes, he hated the bandages more then all of his enemies put together. They were restricting, tight, and downright painful. But he had promised Bruce he would wear them, and Robin would never break a promise if he could help it.

But sometimes he really wanted to, if only so he could finally be free from everything that chained him to the world and the hard ground. And as he stared into his full-length mirror, Robin had to fight even harder with himself to not walk out of his room shirtless.

A pair of soft gray wings extended from his back, stretching out on either side in an elegant display. He had taken the time to brush over each of his feathers to ensure none of them were bent or twisted, and he could feel a sense of pride well inside of him before it faded into sadness.

When he was a child, his wings were vibrant and colorful like those of his parents. The were called the Flying Graysons for a reason, after all, just not for the reason the crowd knew. He could still remember the flying lessons they taught, using the trapeze platforms as a way to practice until he could soar to even higher heights. But since they performed with their wings bound and no safety of a net, all it took was one fateful night in Gotham for him to lose his parents.

His wings had lost a lot of their color after that night. For a while, the outside edges even became a deep black, but he still had a little red and yellow left. But late nights fighting terrors alongside Batman caused even those colors to fade over time. It was terrifying for him when he began to see only a thin stripe of red within so much black. At that moment, he knew he had to get out before Gotham corrupted more than just his wings.

Now, he was in Jump City, with a ragtag group of metas with powers and mutations even stranger than his, and the black had slowly receded to a dull, ashen gray.

There is good and there is evil...and the line between them is clear...yeah right.

     He had long since come to realize that things were not always black and white, and the color of his wings were a testament to the gray area of life. Robin hoped that someday he would see the familiar vibrant colors of his past again. He also hoped that he could show his newfound family, but until the right moment he was forced to clip his wings. And he hated it with a passion.

He was a Flying Grayson. He wasn't supposed to keep both feet on the ground all the time. It wasn't in his nature, and the older he got, the stronger his longing for the skies grew. He needed to be free.

"Tonight," he promised himself, "when everyone's asleep. Then I'll go."

        His eyes trailed down to the bandages in his grip, and with a deep sigh, he began the painful process of binding his wings. It hurt, especially since they had grown substantially since he left Gotham. But as his fingers brushed against the tips of his lower feathers he made a startling discovery that caused him to drop the wrappings.

    He had begun another color change, and he was shocked at the shade that adorned the tips of his wings.

  There is no way, he thought, blue eyes wide and concerned, There is absolutely no way I would let him influence me that much. I swore I wouldn't let him get to me that easily after Red X.

   But the proof was right there in front of him. The Titans always said they were similar, but he didn't think it would influence his next change.

For instead of the hopeful colors of his parents or the deep ebony of his mentor, his wings were turning the color of his arch-nemesis.

Orange....
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A/N: So, what do you think? I know this was short, but it was just a little something I came up with. Please review and tell me what you think!