"Access Denied"

"Damn it!" This was ridiculous he was a master hacker and he couldn't open a god-damned door!

He felt a familiar rush of air before the annoyed voice of the yellow speedier shot through his ears.

"Hurry up Rob!" Wally called skidding to a stop next to me as I viciously typed in commands on my hologram keyboard.

"I'm trying, this stuff isn't always a cake walk Wally." I grunted as I furiously decrypted the pass codes for the heavy electronic door. He felt like he was trying to hack into the pentagon, seriously what the hell was behind this door?

There was an explosion from somewhere down the hallway behind me that literally shook the floor; my hand paused on the keyboard for a second before the thundering of feet echoed through down the passage as Superboy, Aqualad and Megan came thundering down the hallway.

I didn't look back, I couldn't afford to; I just kept hacking…. almost done…

There was a roaring sound as I felt the heat rise in the air around me, my heart pounded recklessly as I tired to swallow down my anxiety. There was the faint sound of shattering glass and chancing a quick glance I turned to see rapidly growing orange light coming from down the hallway; I didn't know what just exploded but I sure didn't want to stick around to find out.

"Uh Robin a little faster dude!" fidgeted Wally.

"He hasn't opened it yet!" growled Superboy as he came thudding to a halt.

Quickly I typed in the last few codes and the heavy metal door hissed open with a reproachful "Access Granted" I sighed out a breath I had not realized I was holding before my airway was roughly cut off again as I felt someone grab onto the back of my cape, Superboy by the feel of it, and found myself flung through the open doorway.

"I didn't need your help getting through the door." I snapped at the super clone rubbing my neck where my cape had cut into it.

"You were certainly taking your time about it." He glared back as the others sprang through after them.

Speedy zipped ahead a yellow blur in everyone's after vision. No sooner had he left he came speeding back.

"It's not good! It's a dead end! I thought you were leading us out Robin!" he spat.

"This is the way out! We were suppose to climb through the ventilation shafts because someone," he shot a look a Superboy, "caved in the entrance we came in at the beginning with his seismic punches!"

Any retort that Superboy had was put on hold the temperature in the hallways shot up as an audible roar clawed down the hallway. There was a growing black cloud spewing from the bend where his friends has just come from; Fire. With one last ground-shaking screech the smoke started glowing orange. It was almost on them!

"Man… of all the ways to go I did not want to be fried to death!" moaned the red-headed speeder.

Aqualad's face when from panic to desperation. "Robin!"

I typed on my hologram computer looking at the blue tron-like outline of all the tunnels and ventilation systems in the corridor. They were winding and extensive… too extensive for them to crawl through before the expansion of the chemical flames got to them.

"No use, we wont be able to get through the ventilation shafts before the fire catches up with us. What did you guys blow up anyway?" I yelled but there was no time to answer as a tunnel of flame came screaming around the final bend snarling and writhing like a wounded snake.

There was only I could do.

"I have to shut the door! It's the only way we're going to avoid getting pan seared!" My heart raced thudding like a track stars feet on the pavement of my ribcage; I could literally feel the blood pumping through my heart; I didn't wait for a response from the team as I sprinted toward the door panel, right toward the rapidly approaching inferno.

I held my breath half way there the air to hot to take in without gagging. The heat was almost unbearable by the time I reached the keypad and whipped out the wire from my glove to plug into USB port. The keys where blazing hot even through the thick gloves I wore. The plastic protecting began to superheat coming very close to melting as the metal inside began to burn.

"Come on! Come on!" I chanted near hysteria before the screen lit up green. "Yes!"

"There was a growl as the fire made one last attempt at squeezing through the titanium doors, thick tongues of flame leaped between the quickly, closing crack in the door. It flailed out trying to claw at it's escaping victims. With one last a final barrage the flame twitched violently, it was almost like it was alive as it turned and spotted me; with an excited rush and lashed toward me.

Gasping I attempted to jump away, to slow, the fire bit into my shoulder sending a shock-wave a pain rattling through my body. I screamed… loud. My vision darkened dangerously and my ears seemed to switch themselves off as white noise filled the silence. I fell back the air flying from my lungs as I hit the ground hard. Pain. It was all I could register for the next few minutes, the burning; the burning it hurt so much. I squeezed my eyes shut gritting my teeth. It was no use.

With a final metallic screech the doors slammed together bearing back death itself.

My hearing started to come back, in and out like a bad radio station. I heard faint sounds, urgent sounds but could not make out if they were words. I tried to zero in on just one sound anything to distract myself from the flames eating at what felt like my very soul.

"Robin!"

Someone was calling my name… I concentrated trying to distinguish between voices. I couldn't see, were my eyes still closed? I couldn't recall. Attempting to push back the pain I concentrated on trying to get one thing to work at a time. I willed my body to move to do something! I opened my mouth only to have a chocked gasp eject.

Suddenly there was a pressure on my body it was light but it didn't matter the pain doubled and I couldn't stop my body as it convulsed painfully causing another scream to rip through my gritted teeth. The pain stayed doubled, I couldn't take it; the hellfire burning at my body seemed to feed off my moment of spreading like wildfire. Everything started to dim, I tried to force myself back into consciousness but the darkness just grew larger slowly swallowing everything bit by bit. Finally Robin let the black take him, he couldn't win against it… he would just have to hope that in the end he would wake up again.