I can't believe I actually got reviews and alerts for this story, I'm flattered! Thank you so much! I hope this chapter isn't disappointing, it wasn't what I wanted to write exactly but it's necessary to the plot. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Do I really have to tell you I don't own the Teen Titans?


Robin was usually a rational person. He relied on logical thinking to get him out of tough situations.

Which is why it was a surprise to him when his first thought was Oh my God Jason's a zombie.

He quickly berated himself-that was stupid, Jason wasn't a zombie. Zombies didn't exist. But then what other explanation was there for his dead brother to be kneeling on the floor, not three feet away, bloody and bruised but alive which was impossible because he was dead and Robin knew he was dead because he saw his body get buried six feet into the ground and-

"What? After all this time and you still can't think of anything to say to your own brother?" All thoughts of clones and robots left Robin's head as soon as Jason opened his mouth. Only Jason could be in such a dangerous, life-threatening situation and still make getting under his skin his number one priority.

"Brother?"

"He's your brother?"

"Robin, what the hell is he talking about?"

Robin could hear the rest of the Titans pestering him, but he paid no attention. Right now was not the time, not when he had his baby brother whose death still made his gut twist when he thought about the brutality of it all right there, he was right there in front of him; couldn't they see he didn't have time for them right now?

"How?" Robin croaked out, his hands on the cold floor, supporting him.

"How am I alive?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "Ra's al Ghu. Lazarus Pit. Connect the dots," Robin swore, his brain now nothing more than a muddle of colorful images-Jason first in the Robin suit, Jason grinning cockily, Jason visiting him in Jump City-all swirling around the face of his brother. His alive brother.

"Um, Robin, dude, what is going on?" Robin stood to see Beastboy hopping from foot to foot nervously. Starfire was floating, a confused expression on her pretty features, while Cyborg seemed stuck between wanting to know what was happening and wanting to just blow the whole place up and go home. Only Raven seemed somewhat normal, maintaining her cool composure. But once glance at her eyes revealed emotions Robin rarely saw there-fear and disbelief.

Raven had been inside his mind he realized with a start as she made eye contact with him. She had seen Jason-only glimpses of him, but she had still seen him-and his funeral, had seen his body lowered into the ground. She was also figuring out exactly what had happened with the Lazarus Pit, and her expression told Robin that it was very very bad.

"So what, you just come back to life-not even bothering to stop by and say 'hey, just to let you know, I'm not dead anymore'-steal the suit-the very dangerous deadly suit that's not yours-and then become a thief? What were you-" Robin's voice faded as Jason looked up at him. He took a second to look at Jason, to just really look at his brother, at a face he never thought he'd see outside of a picture frame again. His inky black hair was matted down with blood, except for a white patch that stubbornly fluffed up. Nasty bruises in various shades of yellow and green blossomed across his jaw like sickly flowers, disappearing below the collar of his suit. A cut above his eyebrow was bleeding profusely, thick blood dripping into his eye and causing him to blink rapidly every few seconds. A thin scar ran along the outer edge of his face, barley visible. But his eyes were the same-a shocking blue, filled with a mixture of his natural cockiness and idiotic bravery. The same idiotic bravery that had gotten him killed. It was like a punch to the gut.

"Helloo! Robin! Are you in there?" Robin blinked to see Beastboy frantically waving his hand in front of Robin's face. He quickly hit it away.

"Knock it off Beastboy," he said.

"Wanna explain to us exactly what's goin' on?" Cyborg glared at him, his cannon still aimed at Slade. Slade. This entire time he had remained silent, just watching the interaction between Robin and Jason. Calculating.

Without taking his eyes off of Slade, Robin answered his friends. "He's my brother,"

"Friend Robin, you are saying the Red X is your brother?"

"Dude!"

"What the hell?"

"And I was worried you wouldn't recognize him," Slade chuckled as he kneeled back down, grabbing a fistful of Jason's hair. Jason gritted his teeth, eyes scrunching up in pain. Instantly, Robin felt an overwhelming sense of big-brother-protectiveness. It didn't matter that his "little brother" was only two years younger and two inches taller than Robin. It didn't matter that said little brother was supposed to be dead right now. It didn't matter that Robin still didn't fully understand why he wasn't. It didn't matter that he had stolen from Robin and had been living in the same city, fighting Robin for years now without telling him who he was. Nothing mattered except for the blue-eyed boy whom Robin hadn't been able to save the first time. And he wasn't about to let that happen again.

"Let go of him," Robin took to battle stance again as he glared at Slade, who seemed rather pleased with the whole thing.

"Now Robin, you aren't forgetting our previous conditions, right? I will let young Jason here-" he yanked Jason's hair, causing him to let out a gasp-"if-and-only if-you agree to join me. Nothing less, nothing more," out of the corner of his eye he could see Raven's hands starting to glow with energy again. Slade shook a finger at her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you make one move against me, then I'll be forced to end this meeting on a rather tragic note," his hand found it's way around Jason's throat, slowly tightening. Robin felt his insides clench as Jason's eyes starting widening, his breath now coming out in deep gasps with too much time between them. No. No, he refused to loose his brother again. He would not be the cause of his second death, would not go through the pain and agony of laying eyes on his motionless body for a second time.

"Dude, what are you doing?" he realized he'd been subconsciously stepping forwards towards Slade, his hands hanging uselessly against his side.

"Very good Robin, very good," said Slade.

"Dick! Don't-don't do it!" Jason rasped.

"Quiet!" Slade snarled at him, his grip tightening.

"Let him go," Robin said. Before Slade could answer, he was suddenly flung backwards into the wall. Robin whirled around to see Raven, her hood up and her hands out in front of her.

"He was focusing on you, not paying any attention to us," she said to Robin in a monotone voice.

"Dickie bird, you idiot," Robin fell to his knees beside Jason's coughing form. He tilted his head up, peering at Robin through blood-covered hair.

"You have," Robin sighed, "a lot of explaining to do," Jason grinned.

"Yeah, I expected that," suddenly his body was overtook by harsh coughs, sounding as if he were trying to hack up his organs. He propped himself back up on shaky hands, grimacing at the floor now covered in blood. Blood. The floor was covered in blood. Blood he had coughed up. The floor was covered in blood his brother had coughed up. Coughing up blood was not a good sign. Coughing up blood was bad. Very very bad.

"Well shit," Jason whispered, then promptly collapsed onto the ground.

"Jason! Jason!" Robin turned him over and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him slightly.

"Oh, is the baby robin hurt? Pity," Slade was now standing in the beams again, leering down at them. "We'll meet again Robin. This isn't the last of it. In due time of course, in due time," and suddenly he was gone. Perhaps he had jumped out the window, or had developed the powers to disappear. Perhaps he was invisible or a magician-in-training. But it didn't matter because Jason was still on the ground, motionless, blood still seeping through his uniform.

"Jason, please-"Robin started, but was roughly pushed aside. Raven took his place, running her glowing hands over his brother. She remained expressionless for a few minutes, then looked back at Robin.

"He'll live. We just need to get him back to the tower," she informed him in a monotone. He nodded numbly. Was this all actually happening, or had he eaten some of that suspicious-looking blue pudding in the fridge and was now hallucinating? Was this all one big dream? Or was he going crazy?

"Anyone who is not touching my cloak in the next two seconds will be forced to find their own way home," Robin quickly reached for the edge of Raven's cloak, deciding to question the state of his sanity later. Starfire held onto Robin's arm, giving him a confused yet comforting smile. Coyborg gently grabbed the hood of Raven's cloak, narrowing his eyes at Robin.

"You'll explain all this at the Tower," he said. That wasn't a question, it was a command. And frankly, Robin was too tired and confused to argue, choosing instead to nod weakly. As he got one last glimpse of the warehouse before it all whirled away, he heard a shriek a few feet away.

"Dude! Raven, hold up! Aw come on!"


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