*Thus, chapter 1!!! Woo!! Yeah, so, time for my little anecdote to kick off the chapter. I'm in AP Great Books, right. But, my teacher is really quirky (understatement of the century), so everyone in the class has a nickname. Mine was the Titanium Shorty, because in class once, I said I'd like to have the power to shrug off pain, so people could just break chairs over me. While Markham (my teacher) nearly nerdgasmed right there, and he was like, "OMG!!! LIKE WOLVERINE!! That shall be your new nickname!" My best friend turns to him and says, "Shyeah, more like the Titanium Shorty." Alas, my short stature (five foot one) has kept me from the most bamf nickname ever. Now, since I got mono, I've ceased to be the Titanium Shorty because Markham arbitrarily decided that nothing made of titanium can get mono, so I'm now the Tin Shorty (my response to this of course was, "If I only had a heart?") Anyway, to the point. There's a kid in my class named Gautam (pronounced Goh-thum). Sound familiar? Yeah, that fortunate name has earned him the most bamf nickname in the class: The Dark Knight. AP Great Books never ceases to entertain me. You should definitely take it if your school offers it. Well, one more thing before we start. I'd like to thank my lovely reviewers (guardyanangel and Bizerko-Kittykins). You spin me round, right round, like a record baby, right round round round! Marry me! Okay…maybe we should take in dinner and a show first.

Disclaimer: "I know this is no place for me; still, I would rather be with you."—"Upon These Stones (Building the Barricade)," Les Miserables (P.S. I don't own Teen Titans or any pop culture references that I may or may not reference in this fanfic).

Note: Ollie refers to the Green Arrow, Speedy's mentor.

Chapter 1: Black Tuesday

…No, it's not about the stock market.

When Roy awoke, the last place that he expected to be was a hospital, and yet, here he was. Still, as he inspected the room closer, he noticed certain details that seemed to tell a different tale. For one thing, what hospital was located further out sea than a harbor? Then it hit him; this was not a hospital. He was in the medical bay of Titans' Tower. How did he end up there? Where was his team? Green eyes widened as pieces of his memory began to return. The attack. Garth. Where was Garth?

He frantically searched the room for his teammate and breathed a huge sigh of relief. There he was. The Atlantean was unconscious on the gurney next to him. He gave Aqualad a once-over. His friend appeared to be in pain. His head was bandaged, and if Roy remembered correctly, his back was more than severely wounded. He checked the nearby heart monitor. Garth's heart rate was fast and shallow, and his temperature read an astonishing 146.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Speedy knew that Atlanteans had high body temperatures, but that just could not be normal.

The redhead pulled out his own I.V. and monitoring devices and made his way over to where the purple-eyed boy slept restlessly. He rested his elbows on the gurney and just stared at Garth for a long time.

"Hey," he croaked out. His voice was so hoarse. It felt as though he had aged a century overnight. "Garth? Can you hear me? It's Roy…God, what'd they do to you?" He swallowed, grabbing one of Aqualad's hands and clutching it with both of his own. "Don't give up, okay? I'm still here, okay?" The Atlantean made no visible response. "Look, I dunno what's gonna happen from here, but no matter what, I swear I'll protect you. You're all I've got left, Garth, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Garth did nothing at first, but just as Speedy was about to return to his own bed, he felt the Atlantean's hand weakly squeeze his.

"Roy…" he murmured, barely audible. Roy beamed.

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Garth seemed to relax at this, falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.

"It's funny," came a voice from the doorway. Roy nearly jumped, startled by the new presence. "Last time I saw you guys, you were fighting over fish tacos, and now look at ya'll."

Speedy smiled. "He's my best friend, Vic, and," his expression darkened, "and now he's all I've got left." Roy could practically hear Cyborg's frown.

"What do you mean?" Speedy turned.

"Grab Robin. If I know him at all, he'll wanna question me himself." Victor nodded, leaving the room to find the commander-in-chief of Titans West.

"…Roy," came that unbelievably weak voice from the bed. Somehow, before the redhead even looked, he knew that his teammate was awake. "Roy?...W-what-?" He cut off as Roy shushed him.

"Don't try to talk," he soothed. "You're hurt pretty bad." Garth attempted to sit up, but immediately fell forward into Roy's arms.

"Mmmn…dizzy…" Roy laid him back down.

"I know." He gently patted his head. "They really got you good, didn't they?" The Atlantean nodded weakly. "Try to get some rest; you need it." Roy did not have to ask twice.

"You should talk," Robin commented as he entered, the other four Titans in tow. Speedy turned, giving the other a wry smile. He sat back down on his gurney with an exasperated sigh. "So," continued the boy wonder, "do you think you can tell us what happened?" The atmosphere grew dark as Roy paused. "I'm sorry to make you relive whatever happened to you, Roy, but the more information you give us, the more we can help."

With a grim nod, the redhead began: "I guess it all started a couple weeks ago when Garth started to lose control of his telepathy."

"How so?" interjected Robin.

"There was an attack at the pier. The criminal fell into the water, and Aqualad tried to summon some of his fish-buddies to help us out. But they didn't respond. He kept trying, again and again, and finally, he got through. The guy nearly drowned by the time his telepathy worked, but he ended up okay. Karen took him into custody. Mas and Menos went ahead to meet us at the Tower. I turned to make a joke, maybe make Garth feel a little better, but he collapsed."

"Collapsed?" It was Cyborg who spoke this time.

"Yeah, he was on his knees and clutching his head like it was fit to burst or something. It was over pretty quick, but it shook both of us up. Before I could say anything, he told me not to say anything to Bee, Mas, or Menos."

"And you didn't?" Robin.

"No, I wanted to respect his privacy."

"Fair enough," the masked boy replied.

"Anyway, his headaches continued over the next few weeks. They only got worse as time went on. His telepathy got weaker, and so did he. His control of water went haywire. If he got even the least bit angry…man, water would be bursting outta the pipes all over the Tower! It just wasn't normal."

Speedy decided to leave out the most personal part of his friend's illness: the nights. Garth's headaches would keep him up at night, if not give him terrible nightmares. Sometimes, he would even cry. And Roy knew this because he was the one that the Atlantean would come to if it all became too much for him.

He remembered the first night. Garth had stumbled into his room, fell against the wall, and broke down in tears. When a half-asleep Roy had asked what was wrong, the purple-eyed boy had clung to the redhead. Somehow, it had been comforting to the Atlantean in need, but it had broken Roy's heart when he had whimpered out an apology for being so weak. Roy had growled out, "Don't you dare apologize for something like that. If you need this, you need this; I don't mind." Garth had murmured one final thank you before falling asleep.

This pattern had continued for those next few weeks. Sometimes, Roy would hold Garth until he fell asleep before bringing him back to his tank to rest. Other times, Roy would awaken in the early hours of the morning only to find Garth curled up against him, fast asleep. And through all of this, Roy would feel an odd sort of pleasure at knowing that he could offer some kind of comfort to his friend in need.

Still, Speedy would never tell the Titans West of those nights, for those times were just between him and Garth.

"Beast Boy," snapped Robin, shaking Roy out of his reverie, "stop bothering Garth." The changeling lied down next to the Atlantean as a green Labrador retriever. Roy simply smiled.

"Nah, he's got the right idea. Garth loves animals, not just marine ones, and he likes Beast Boy, so it's probably not bothering him." Roy wondered if anyone else noticed the subtle shift in Garth's expression to contentment when Gar curled up next to him.

"So, what happened next?" asked Dick sternly. The redhead nodded.

"So, this continued until…how long ago did I arrive at the Tower?"

"That was…the Tuesday," began Starfire cheerfully, "two days ago." Speedy nodded gratefully.

"Well, that day, we all woke up for early-morning training, except Garth. Karen had figured out herself that he wasn't well, so she decided to give him a break when he slept through his alarm. We were going out to breakfast that morning, so we tried to wake him, but he just wouldn't. Nothing we tried would wake him; he was really sick. I volunteered to watch him while Bee, Mas, and Menos grabbed some breakfast to bring back to the Tower.

"While they were gone, Garth woke up, but he was really out of it and had a fever. I had to carry him over to the couch because he was too sick to walk. But when he was relatively coherent, he said that he had the worst headache he'd ever had in his entire life.

"We took turns taking care of him, but as the day went on, he started to get really delirious. He started talking about a group of people, which he referred to simply as, 'them.' He said 'they' were coming, and we had to get outta the Tower before 'they' came for him. We thought he was just babbling and delusional from the fever." Roy gritted his teeth at the thought. "Goddammit! If only we'd fucking listened!"

"Roy," Robin soothed, "I know it's hard, but you need to calm down." Speedy clenched his fists but nodded nonetheless.

"That night…he was terrible. We tried putting him to bed, but he didn't even try to rest. He was having a fit. I was up with him until after midnight. He was just so delusional; he wouldn't relax for a moment.

"It all happened so fast: one minute, I was taking care of Garth, the next, we were surrounded. They got me with some kinda chemical. I really don't remember much, only flashes. I remember Karen telling me to look out. Then…I think we got separated. I was against a wall, just trying to keep from passing out. Mas and Menos got split apart, and Karen grabbed Garth. I took a blow for Mas, got nicked pretty bad in the head. I managed to pick off a few guys…but the chemical just got to me. I got dizzy and shaky, and I think I passed out at one point.

"Then, I remember being held up by some guy. It's really garbled, but I think they threatened Garth with my life. Garth must've submitted because when I next came to, those bastards had him. They…did something to him. I can't remember what but…" Roy's expression took on a haunted look, one far too old for a face so young. "I have never heard anyone scream like that. Never. I lost it after that. I just started kicking and biting, trying to get them off Garth. I used the 'emergencies only' arrow that Ollie gave me. I'm not entirely sure what it did, but hell…it got rid of them. I blacked out again.

"When I woke up, I was on the ground next to Garth. He was unconscious and looked like hell warmed over. I was still out-of-it and shaky, but I managed to pull him over my shoulders. I searched the Tower for Karen, Mas, and Menos…and…I found them. They were all in different parts of the Tower, and they…" Speedy Trailed off, swallowing, "they were dead. All three of them."

Starfire gasped. Beast Boy, in dog form, whimpered, Cyborg grimaced. Raven murmured a soft, "No." Robin grit his teeth. Garth shifted slightly in his sleep.

"…I was about to go crazy. I…I didn't know what I was going to do, but I guarantee it would've been stupid. Then, I remembered Garth, and I realized I still had one teammate left that needed me, so…I headed here." Speedy's fists were clenched in his lap, but still, he had no idea how to react. He felt empty.

Before the reality of losing his entire team could dawn on him, Starfire threw her arms around Speedy, shedding the tears that seemed unable to escape him. "I am so sorry! So, so, so sorry!" Roy found himself clutching onto her as if life itself depended on it. Hell, maybe it did.

"Thank you," he managed softly.

They remained like that for the longest time.

Finally, Dick spoke, "Roy, you could use some sleep." The aforementioned did not argue, and simply complied, lying back down as the five members of Titans West the room, turning off the lights in their wake.

Outside the room, Roy could hear Raven speak: "The least we can do is go and bury their bodies before they…"

"Rot," Robin finished grimly.

"I'll come with you," came Cyborg's voice.

"When Roy and Garth are back up to speed, we can hold a service." There was a collective murmur of agreement before the voices stopped. The five Titans left.

Speedy was alone again.

But not quite.

He could still here the soft methodical breathing of the Atlantean on the adjacent bed. It was comforting if nothing else. He climbed out of his gurney and snuck over to Garth's gurney, lying next to the purple-eyed boy. Garth mumbled unintelligibly in his sleep before curling closer to Roy. The latter gently wrapped his arms around the Atlantean with a contented sigh.

For the first time since he awoke, Roy felt at ease.

*Okay, be gentle, how much did it suck? None? A lot? It had its moments? Anyway, thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading it, because I always enjoy writing it…well, except for the proofreading part (shivers). Well, see you all next week! It's going to be an extra special long chapter as an early holiday present. ;)