Slade and his minions flew to the top security cell. It was no surprise to find a very strange sight, a man.
But not just any man. His right side was the face of a normal man with tan skin and dark brown hair. On this side he had a normal navy blue suit with a white shirt and black tie. His right shoe was black leather.
The unusual part about him was that his left side was the complete opposite. Hie face was red, scared and wrinkled. His, purplish hair on his left side stood up spiky. This side of his suite was black and red zebra style stripes with a black shirt and a white tie with black polka dots. His shoe matched his coat.
The strange man carried a silver coin with a head on one side and a sward on the other. But who was this strange man?
"Ah! Long time no see, old friend. Phase one is complete." Slade said smoothly
The man smiled and flipped the silver coin. It landed on the sward. He smiled, "Time for phase two, I am ready!"
"We must wait dear friend, until Robin recovers. It will bother him if he sees us.
The partners laughed in a way to make anyone shiver.
When Raven reached the tower, she hurried into the living the living room and lay him onto the sofa. Soon afterwards, the others arrived. They were very concerned.
"Will he be alright Cyborg?" Starfire asked tearfully, as Cyborg checked Robin's pulse.
"No idea," he answered unsure. "I'll have to run a few tests, but right now he's breathing." His voice sounded shocked and unsure. Tears fell down Starfire's face. Beast Boy gave her a hug.
Beast Boy tried to confort her, "He'll be fine Star, It'll be o.k."…
"What was that orange stuff?" asked Raven, she tried to change the subject.
"No clue," Cyborg answered confused. "Listen y'all, I need you all to go somewhere else so I could concentrate."
The three left, it was dark outside. Nobody slept. Cyborg took a quick break to recharge his battery and came back to find the others in the kitchen eating. They were all quiet. Star couldn't take her eyes off the unconscious Robin in a stretcher by a hospital set of tools.
"He'll be fine Star." Cyborg said as he noticed her gaze, "I think you should all get some rest for now, he might wake up."
So they all left, Cyborg continued to work until he final found the problem.
"So," he said to himself "By this brain rate change and faster pulse, the orange gas must cause an increase in stress rate in a certain way." He hesitated "But in what way? Why would Slade want to do this?" Cyborg continued to think about this late into the night until he finally went to bed.
As Robin opened his eyes everything appeared blurry. It was early the net morning. He blinked again and everything came into focus. The sun was bright and he could see buildings out in the distance.
Robin tried to move. He felt dizzy and weak. His head ached so much that he really wanted an ice pack.
Robin sat up. He was on a stretcher in the living room surrounded by tools used in a hospital. There was a chair next to his stretcher and wires connected to him.
Suddenly, he remembered. The jet..Slade..the lever and the orange fog…the strange man, he remembered…
Robin tried to get up, but the wires forced him down. He lay there for awhile until…
"Robin?" a voice from the kitchen was coming closer. Robin rolled over into her direction.
"Starfire? Is that you?" he said squinting, for his vision remained blurry
Starfire shrieked and ran toward him. She threw her arms around him.
"Are you ok? I thought I would never see you again!" tears were streaming down her face,
"I'm fine." He was confused. "Why? What happened?"
"You fell into the ocean, after the orange gas appeared, we rushed you here and now, here you are!" she replied concerned,
Robin felt embarrassed. "How long have I been like this?" he asked,
"It's the day after you fell."
Just then Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg rushed in.
"Star!" Cyber yelled, " Are you all…ROBIN!" They all rushed over
"Dude are you ok?" asked Beast Boy rejoiced to see him awake,
"I'm fine."
Raven looked at him suspicously, "You look kind of pale."
"He should, after what he has been through."
Raven was unsure. "What happened to you when the fog came?"
Robin was so afraid to answer that all he could say was "N-No id-dea."
Cyborg had insisted that he would run a few more tests on Robin before letting him fight or do anything else. "I want to be positive that you are o.k." He had said, "I know that orange fog has or will affect you in one way or another."
Robin just shrugged, but he already had an idea about what that orange fog was doing. It was weakening him and bringing up his worst memories, to scare and warn him. But why?
He couldn't tell Cyborg this. If he did he would have to tell him all of his worst memories. The truth was, Robin was too scared to tell anyone about it. So all he would mention was his physical feeling.
Night came fast, Cyborg finally went to bed. Which left Robin alone. Soon he fell asleep. But this was where problems really began.
At first he was dreaming about defeating Slade at last and putting him in jail. But then something strange happened, the dream changed.
He was at the circus with his family wearing his costume. HE was on the trapeze with his family and all he could hear was the crowd cheer. He smiled as they bowed.
Then the ringmaster came into the spotlight. He was a short, fat man who was baldheaded and had dark brown mustache. "And now, the masters of the trapeze will do flips without any kind of safety for if they fall!" he smiled as they took down the net underneath them.
They did the stunt perfectly. As they went back to the supporting lengths, the strange man appeared.
"And now," he said. "The final wrap up of tonight's show! I Two-Face, have a surprise to die for! The bomb on the ceiling will go off in exactly thirty seconds, and there is no escape for you!"
Two-Face laughed and left. Out of nowhere, Batman appeared and he immediately sprang into action as he fought off the minions.
Robin had an idea. "You guys go and distract the guards, I'll get rid of the bomb."
They nodded and sprung into action.
Robin hurried to through the bomb into the ocean while his family distracted the minions of Two-Face. Until…
The trapeze! Two –Face had cut the ropes that kept them up. The man fled before anyone could do anything. His family fell onto the ground helpless and weak. They were dead before they reached the ground. Robin had finished throwing the bomb into the ocean when he came back to the circus to see their bodies and a smiling Two-Face getting away with his minions.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Robin woke up shaking it was the middle of the night and all of the titans were there, it was just a nightmare of his past.
Cold sweat and a few tears were on his pale face. His friends looked worried and confused. "Robin? Are you ok?" It was Cyborg. He was standing over him checking his pulse and rummaging through the equipment around the stretcher.
"I-I'm fine. J-Just a nightmare." Robin sat up and wiped his face on his arm
"You look terrible." Raven added. "And you kept muttering in your sleep."
"I am fine!" Robin said as he got up. "Cyborg I think that I am capable of sleeping in my own room. But thank you for your help."
Robin pulled the wires off him and went to his room. The others watched him leave puzzled.
"What just happened?" Raven asked confused,
"I don't know?" Cyborg answered,
Beast Boy stared at the stretcher. "Any idea about that affect of the orange gas?" he said, as he turned to Cyborg.
Cyborg thought. "I think it forces worst memories into a person's mind, besides for weakening the victim." He answered thoughtfully.
"Is it permanent?" Starfire asked terrified,
"No, it will wear off after awhile." He replied, "C'mon, lets go to bed."
So they left but as Raven started to leave, she had a vision of Robin's dream. Her eyes widened. She was confused. Raven shook her head and went to bed slowly.