Christmas is as much a lazy time of year as it is fun, most of the time. Yes, lazy, that's what i've been for the past two weeks. And thats just bad. Irritating to say the least. Thanks for the reivews, sorry you all had to wait so long. TTHPFan, Teen Freak, Merchantfan, Guardian of Azarath, Tsuikikage1213, Linzheart92, Shandow the Dark, Realfanficts, Samanthe2121

Outside the tower Raven kept a careful watch on the guards to ensure she wasn't discovered. A green humming bird flew down beside her then turned back into the familiar form of Beast Boy.

"Are we ready?" He nodded.

"Yeah, we're all set." He pulled a remote that he'd configured to a detonator. "Let's just hope they're not anywhere near the spot when this thing goes."

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Robin sat himself upright but as he did found himself staring up the arm of alien with tears in her eyes. Slade walked through the absolute mess that common room had become.

"Excellent work Starfire, now finish him." Slade knew she wouldn't just act immediately. The technology wasn't perfect and did allow for some control of the body here and there. Thus he needed to push her in the right direction.

"Starfire….don't."

"FINISH HIM!" She looked away from his face.

"Robin……forgive me." Robin vision had been taken up solely by the green glow of Starfire's hand. His whole world then became a quick burst of energy and the feeling of falling.

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"Robin!" Gasped Raven.

"What is it?" She grabbed his arm

"Something's happened; we have to get in there now!" Beast Boy nodded hastily and fumbled with the remote. As soon as he had it in had again he paused.

"Okay, here we go." He flicked open the open the casing and moved his finger over the switch. With just a moment more of hesitation, done away with by a small hit from Raven, Beast Boy pressed down on the trigger.

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Robin's mouth hung ajar from the impact just between his chest and stomach. Starfire stared at him with a dulled look of shock. Cyborg was simply frozen on the spot. Slade eagerly took in the high tension and sorrow to follow with much pleasure. As Robin's head sagged forward he fell to one side and lay limp. Slade tapped a button on his wrist and collar around Starfire's neck fell apart. The moment she regained control of her body she rushed down at the boy wonder's side.

"ROBIN!" Just as Cyborg began to follow a distant explosion shock the tower somewhat. Starfire's tear stained eyes cast a perplexed look about. Slade ran to a screen to see the majority of his drones gathering at the explosion's origin. His only visible eye narrowed as there were only two Titans missing from his possession. He became aware of something rising from the ground behind him and was not a bit surprise to see Raven and Beast Boy behind him. Raven through up a shield as she knew Slade would automatically launch his own psychic attack at her. She brought up the barrier just in time. The dark energy emanating from Slade's hands bombarded her without end. She craned her neck to one side.

"GO! I-CAN'T-KEEP THIS UP!" Starfire and Beast Boy each took one of Robin's arms over their shoulders and with Cyborg gathered around Raven.

"You can't escape that easily," hissed Slade. Raven barred her teeth in an effort to hold their worst enemy at bay. "You will fail." Raven hated to admit it but she was beginning to fall under the strain. Cyborg caught Starfire's eyes and two exchanged a nod. Cyborg went low and Starfire went high, both targeting Slade as he bombarded Raven. The masked villain was then forced to concentrate on three targets; which he appeared to do expertly. As Starfire flew around behind him he guided a computer terminal to meet her in the air. She carved it in half with a swipe of her empowered hands. Still all the while Slade kept his never-ending attack on Raven. Beads of sweat poured down her head and she panted almost painfully. Slade kicked a wave of energy at Cyborg who dove on his side and at the same time managed to get in a shot at Slade's ankle. This minor hit caused the villain to loose just enough concentration and Raven took up Beast Boy and Robin in her shroud. Once Starfire saw that the other three were safely gone she swooped down to gather up Cyborg. She flew up to the window, broke open a hole for them to leave through but paused. She looked back down at Slade who simply stood watching her. She sent a cold look back at him and took Cyborg out with her.

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When there's trouble you know who to call
Teen Titans!
From their tower, they can see it all
Teen Titans!

When there's evil on the attack
You can rest knowing they got your back
Cuz when the world needs heroes on patrol
Teen Titans GO!

With their superpowers they unite
Teen Titans!
Never met a villain that they liked
Teen Titans!

They've got the bad guys on the run
They never stop 'till the job gets done
Cuz when the world is losin' all control
Teen Titans GO!

1,2,3,4 GO!

Teen Titans

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The Leader pt.3

Act.1

The Titans were careful to find shelter devoid of loyalists or people too afraid to keep their mouths shut. Robin held an icepack to his head while Starfire helped Raven tend to the small wound on his midsection.

"I'm glad you were able to pull it up at the last second Star," mumbled Robin. She looked from his stomach to his face. "A little lower and…." Raven took her glowing hands away.

"You should be just fine, just don't overexert yourself for a while." He nodded at the doctor's orders. Cyborg, who along with Beast Boy stood watch by the windows, turned with a sigh.

"So now what? We're right back where we started. We can't trust a single soul in around here and Slade's got eyes and ears everywhere. I say we make a break for the T-Ship, go home, and count our blessings."

"No." Said Robin pulling himself up to his feet. Their eyes followed him as he went. "We have a responsibility, let's do what we came here to do."

"We are so few against many," said Starfire.

"Hey-Hey Raven, tell em' my idea!" Said Beast Boy as he still gazed out the window. She trained a pair of eyes over at him.

"Why don't you tell them?"

"I'm busy being a look out."

"Would one of you tell me?!" Exclaimed Robin. Raven settled on being Beast Boy's second voice.

"We thought maybe if we widened the bandwidth on our communicators it might be able to pick up other signals within this time period." Cyborg moved away from his post to stand beside Raven.

"You mean…find ourselves?"

"Or any of the other Titans." Starfire protested.

"But Raven we have risked much by allowing ourselves to be seen by many people and Slade himself. If we come in contact with our future selves the results could be…."

"Be what?" asked Raven curiously. Starfire glanced at Robin and shrugged.

"I…do not know actually."

"You met all of us in the future before Star," said Robin.

"Yes but as you may recall I was not among of all of you to be seen by myself." Beast Boy lightly hit his head against the glass.

"I hope we figure something out quick before all this time talk melts my brain." He felt it was safe to look away from the outside for just a while and turned to his friends. "Look guys I think it's the best plan we've got apart from plan B which homp it out to the T-Ship and go home. I think it's worth the risk." As the consulting was considered done all heads now turned to Robin. He looked up at Cyborg.

"Do it."

"Doing it." He took Beast Boy outside with him and thus they began their search. Raven returned her attention to Robin.

"That's enough Raven I'm fine," he said shooing her hand away.

"She is just being thorough," said Starfire holding his shoulder. "Please continue Raven." Undeterred by Robin's first rejection Raven began her work again. This Robin grew aggravated.

"I said I'm fine." He pushed his way past the two girls and made his way outside. Perplexity and hurt crossed Starfire's face while suspicion flitted across Raven's. She crossed her arms and took a seat for a short meditation.

"Raven?"

"Yes?" she responded with closed eyes.

"Why is Robin angry with us…or me?"

"He isn't." The alien grew confused. "He's angry alright, but not at any of us." Starfire looked in the direction he'd walked out in. "Don't worry Starfire he'll be fine, he probably just needs a moment or two."

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Robin walked out into the cold air, his feet made crunching sounds in the snow as he went. He found Cyborg and Beast Boy standing a fair distance away from the hide looking for anything resembling a signal. A little chilled Robin walked up behind them.

"Anything?" Cyborg glanced at him then look back upwards with sigh.

"Man this is worse than trying to find cell phone service. I move around every which way looking for at least one little ol' bar and it takes me forever-" He stopped himself so abruptly that it caught Robin and Beast Boy's attention.

"Dude you found something?!" Cyborg cast an amazed open mouth up at the sky and slowly nodded.

"Yeah….one signal, couple hundred miles east of here." Robin and Beast Boy exchanged excited smiles.

"Can you tell whose it is?" Once again Cyborg nodded. "Who? Whose is it?" Cyborg retracted the small dish back into his head and stared at Robin.

"Yours."

Intrigued by the prospect of meeting Robin as a grown man they quietly made their way back to their hidden spacecraft and with Cyborg guiding the way flew a fair distance away from Jump City. Not entirely realizing that along the way the heroes picked up a shadow or two. When Cyborg finally reported that they'd reached their destination the five Titans near a house out in the country side. They landed the T-Ship in a clearing farther in the woods and continued the rest of the way on foot. The house was not really out in the middle of nowhere, just far enough so that one got the impression they were the only human being for miles around.

As they drew nearer they heard a rhythmic clanging sound, like a hammer working against a piece of metal. They moved around the back side of the house and found a small workshop. They grew perplexed when a sign on it read Grayson's Metal Works.Outside it off to the side was a metal frame with the one working on it hidden within its confines. They saw his arm holding the hammer rise and fall with each stroke. Robin glanced at his teammates before clearing his throat.

"Dick Grayson?"

"Yeah," came a rather nonchalant response. Before Robin could continue he spoke again. "If you wanna place an order you need to wait in the house. I don't let customers in the work area; it's a liability thing I'm sure you understand." His voice housed unmistakable regret. Robin rubbed his forehead tiresomely.

"We just need to talk to you for a minuet." With the hammer still in hand it waved toward the house.

"Wait in the house," he repeated irritably. Starfire stepped up beside Robin.

"Please, just a moment of your time." The hammer strokes came to a stop. It obvious he somehow recognized her voice. He slowly raised himself from around the frame and they saw an aged form of Robin himself. His face was shadowed by a barely showing beard, as if he hadn't shaved in days. He stared at the Titans in absolute awe and bewilderment.

"Ohhh jeez."

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The living room within the older Robin's house was quite small. They seated themselves in any open chair or spot of sofa that was empty. He walked back in carrying a tray with some beverages on it.

"Yeah I'm sorry if things are kinda messy, I wasn't really expecting to run into my team from the past."

"You aren't the least bit….shocked?" asked Raven. Dick shrugged.

"Why should I? I'd be willing to bet we've traveled through time a lot more times than anyone else. Boy that kinda sounds redundant." Robin nodded in nervous agreement and took a sip of his drink. His face scrunched up upon drinking it and set it back down wit a sour look. They all stared at him wondering if his drink had infect been poisoned.

"Thirty years…" said the boy wonder. "Thirty years and I'm still not any good at making lemonade?" he asked in utter disbelief. Dick threw his hands up.

"Guess the future changes now." Starfire set her untouched lemonade back down.

"Robin-"

"Dick."

"Forgive me, Dick. Where are the other Titans? Should they not be somewhere close?" Dick leant his head back.

"Actually Star I don't think you'll be seeing them on this run."

"How come?" asked Cyborg.

"Oh its nothing……they just don't wanna have anything to do with me." For a moment it might have seemed like he was joking. Then it was clear from the sarcastic smile on his face that he was serious.

"Why?" asked Robin with a complete lack of understanding. "S-Slade's still out there, we need to get everyone together and-"

"And what," interrupted Dick. "Go stop him? Bring him down, defeat him, put him behind bars, throw him in the slammer, you know….exactly how many other ways are there for saying 'arrest him'?"

"Are you trying to be funny?" asked Raven.

"I did have my days didn't I Raven?" replied Dick a bit snidely. Robin waved his hands impatiently.

"N-No no! Okay we don't have time to be funny or any of that, Slade's out there and-Oh would you look at that-HE'S KING OF THE WORLD!" Dick stared up at his past counterpart with a slight look of marveling.

"You know I used to be just like you." Robin shot Starfire a incredulous glance. "I was always the first one out the door every single morning of every single day of every single year. For a while the rest of you," he gestured to Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy. "You guys must've figured it was just me being me, then of course the obsession grew and grew like a balloon and we all know what happens when you fill a balloon with too much air." The Titans grew rather stiff. "The three of you left." Once again he referred to Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy. "You just couldn't take it anymore; I mean I would not let it go. Every waking second of my day was spent trying to stop this psychopath that somehow got hit hands on ultimate power. Now you were different Star." All eyes moved to the red head.

"Me?" she asked holding a closed hand to her chest.

"You," replied Dick pointing at her. "You stuck by me all the way no matter what." Though this made Starfire smile somewhat Robin's face remained pensive. If she stuck by him then where was she now? Dick's demeanor dampened. "You stuck by me no matter how angry I got, how loud I'd shout…" Starfire's smile gradually faded. He ducked his head down then brought it back up with an ironic chuckle. "I tell you Star, you really were a saint to put up with me."

"I do not understand, where am I now?" He paused. It was almost as if he were afraid of them.

"Four years ago I was investigating some kind of factory or processing plant-I don't know-but anyway of course I spent what time I had not with Starfire but with trying to take down my bad guy." It was clear there was much self disdain in his voice. "So we finally make our way into this place and lo and behold it turned out to be an ambush." Cyborg and Beast Boy exchanged looks. "Slade gave us the option to surrender, but I wouldn't budge; too proud and too stupid to see reality. When I wouldn't put my hands up Slade had his guys open up on us with everything they had. By the time I woke back up the whole place was a mess: lumber splinter asunder, iron beams piled up everywhere, it was a wonder it didn't collapsed right then. When Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy came by the house again they saw I was alone." It was then that it dawned on everyone. Robin's mouth hung open.

"No."

"That was the last straw as far as they were concerned, since then they've had absolutely nothing to do with me." Starfire took in slow steady breaths.

"T-T-Then I….I am…"

"That's right Star…..I got you killed," said Dick with a faraway stare. Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy's reaction was close to if not quite similar to their future counterparts. All three of them were utterly shocked at what had happened. Before the streams in her eyes could be seen by anyone else Starfire quickly walked out of the house. Robin's gaze followed Starfire outside then he turned it back to Dick who was slowly nodding. "Yup, why couldn't she have just done what was better for her and gotten mad at me at least once?" Robin the glass he was holding out his hand. Once the following clatter had subsided he spoke.

"Are you screwing with us?" Dick quirked an eyebrow. "Because I don't want Starfire going out of her mind because you're running off at the mouth!"
"Why would I make something like this up? I guess I was just trying to warn you." Robin looked about incredulously.

"Warn us?! Warn us about what?! We have a job to do!"

"To do what? TO DO WHAT?" The three remaining Titans really didn't know what to make of this. Dick picked up the downed glass and held it tightly. "We spent everyday saving our little city and sometimes the world from all sorts of baddies and danger and what happens? Five minuets later the world would go right back to being in trouble again. Slade can't be beaten by either of us, he's finally done it. You'd do better to leave now and find some other planet or dimension to settle in."

"So we're wasting our time, is that what you're saying?" asked Beast Boy crossly.

"Uhh der! Why can't the world ever stay out of trouble for more than two seconds? It wasn't fair to us and not fair to you guys now."

"So what are we supposed to do?" asked Robin sternly. Dick looked away from his younger self. He walked through a door-less opening into the kitchen and paused. His hand rested on the frame.

"Go home." Their faces fell. He was serious, he was actually telling them to abandon everything and just leave. His index finer beat against the frame, his back still faced the Titans. "If I've sized up your age right, you've got about another twenty or so years before Slade makes his big move. Enjoy the fresh air and ice cream parlors while you still can."

"We can't do that," said Robin with perseverance. Dick hung his head.

"Then we both still haven't changed. I'm still a lost cause, and you're still a stubborn idiot." He disallowed Robin the opportunity to reply by disappearing into the kitchen then walking down the hallway. Raven moved to go after him but Robin held her back.

"Let him sulk, we've got bigger things to worry about." The boy wonder then went looking for Starfire. Cyborg guzzled down the last of his lemonade.

"Oookay, I was expecting this to go a little differently."

"Yeah, who would've thought Robin would turn into a hopeless lazy oaf," agreed Beast Boy.

"He isn't lazy," said Raven. She peered down the hall through which Dick stalked away. "But he has lost hope."

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Robin approached Starfire from behind; she seemed unaware of his incoming presence; too absorbed in her quiet sobs. He stopped walking when he was just a few steps from her.

"Star." She whirled around not bothering to dry her eyes before doing so. He stunned at first glance. She rarely showed him such sad emotion in her eyes but it was shining out through and through.

"It-It cannot be true can it? Do we not make our futures?" Robin didn't know what to say. Never did he imagine himself allowing something so horrible to happen to someone he so cared for. It just seemed impossible. "Would the drive to be victorious carry you to such ends?"

"Never." Was Robin's short and simple reply. He could see that though Starfire wanted desperately to believe him she was in need of convincing. Robin looked around, as if mortified the others or even his past mentor would see him. In a bout of abandonment of principle and perhaps common sense Robin knelt down in front of Starfire and dared not look up at her.

"Starfire, I guess I am to blame for what's happened to you." Starfire's wide eyes strayed from him only for a moment as she noticed Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy quietly stepping outside. "This is probably the dumbest and most corny thing you've ever seen me do but….I just wanted you to know that I would never let anything happen to you." Starfire reached down and took a gentle hold of his arm. He interpreted the gesture and rose upon Starfire's slight upward pull.

"Robin, you need not convince me of anything." She smiled for him. "I always feel safe around you." He smiled a bit timidly. "Perhaps you can get carried away when it concerns Slade, but this future is different from the one you yourself can now create. You always have the love of your friends, and me." One side of Robin's mouth curved into a lopsided grin.

"This is all mushy and corny just like said," said Raven making Robin jump. He mentally turned a shade of red that would have rivaled a stop light. "But this has been a little bit of a waste of time."

"Rae's right," said Cyborg. "If we can't attack Slade head on then we need to think of something else."

"A change of tactic would indeed be prudent," agreed Starfire. Robin cast one last look back at the house in which he supposedly would end up in. Although he'd made a solemn vow to Starfire never to make the same mistakes, Robin couldn't help but doubt himself.

"Come on." He whispered to his teammates and they began walking away.

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Shut up in his room Dick sat off the edge of his bed looking down a worn and faded photo of the one whom he'd lost. She appeared to have never aged a day, and if it were up to him he would have declared her features inside and out, immortal. He stared down at Starfire's broadly smiling face with a steadily hard look. He seemed to have lost his ability to express much over the years.

"I miss you," he said as he once more tossed the picture back under the bed.

I hadn't intended for this to be in two acts but I was long from finihsing it as one episode so I broke it up. I think it was better this way, I had to get somehting out. Hope you'll like it.