Disclaimer: All copyright and credit goes to the original creators of the Teen Titans, Batman, and the DC Universe. This is for entertainment purposes only! I do not own any of the characters!

A/N: A HUGE thank you to all of you who reviewed my story! It means the world to me! : )

Alright, here is chapter 2. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2

Dilemmas

Cyborg let out a frustrated huff as he barely ducked the starbolt that whizzed over his head and disintegrated on the concrete next to him. The car he had chosen to take refuge behind did little to protect him from the intense crossfire between the two opposing parties.

"Yo Star! Watch where you throw those things!" Cyborg yelled, his grip on the communicator tightening. He had taken off its back and currently had it hooked up to his chest system through a series of wires in an attempt to reach Robin. Whoever had blocked the signal, knew exactly what they were doing, and Cyborg didn't like it one bit.

"Sorry! I did not mean to-EEK" Starfire screamed while ducking under a car hurdling inches from her head. Before the car could smash into the building behind it, it was encased by a wrathful black magic and flung back at the accuser, who was none other than the powerful Cinderblock.

The monster seemed bigger and more powerful than Cyborg remembered. Its large body was built out of stacked, giant cinder blocks and the monster towered over everything around it. What Cinderblock lacked in speed, or agility it made up in brute force.

A cry of alarm echoed through the air and Cyborg glanced up. He cringed as Raven quickly tried to throw up a shield to fend off Cinderblock's massive fist. Before the concrete monster could make contact though, Beast Boy morphed into a whale, and landed on top of the oncoming concrete hand. The sudden shift in weight drove Cinderblock's fist into the street, allowing for Starfire to step in and blast the monster with a flurry of starbolts.

Cyborg watched with growing apprehension as each starbolt added to the thickening layer of smoke building up and around the monster. The alien girl's eyes glowed a fierce emerald color as she halted her storm of starbolts and backed away from the hazy cloud.

"Come on, Robin. You should be here by now. Right now would be a really good time for our Sonic Boom," Cyborg muttered under his breath. The communicator crackled and sputtered in the deafening silence that had settled over the battle.

"Come on. Come on. Please work," Cyborg said as he moved a few wires around.

"Honestly, Robin. I expected a warmer welcome." The communicator popped and cut off, and Cyborg felt his blood run cold. It couldn't be….him.

It didn't take long for a loud roar to reverberate through the city. An enormous gray fist rose up out of the smoke and smashed down onto the ground, shaking the entire street and the buildings lining it.

"Cyborg? Cy can you hear me?"

Robin's voice pierced the air, and Cyborg gripped the communicator as if it was the only line keeping him connected to the ground.

"Robin! We need your help now! Please tell me that isn't Slade!" Cyborg yelled, feeling all of his self-control seep out of him as Cinderblock rose from the clearing smoke.

The communicator gave one last wheezing crackle, and went silent. Cyborg let out a frustrated cry as he moved the wires around again and again. Each attempt was met with the same response – nothing. Robin was on his own now.

With the one villain who had the power to break him.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos"

Raven's eyes turned a deep, wicked black as she flung car after car at Cinderblock. The monster staggered back crossing his hefty arms in front of his face. Meanwhile, Starfire flew down and grabbed Beast Boy by his arm. The duo soared into the air, and Starfire veered around and flew toward Cinderblock. She flung Beast Boy toward the monster, and using the momentum Starfire gave him, the green changing morphed into a T-Rex, slamming into the rock-solid being. The forceful impact collided into Cinderblock, knocking the monster mercilessly to the ground.

Cinderblock, dazed but not defeated, grabbed the green T-Rex and slung him into the nearest building. Beast Boy crashed into it, sending shards of glass raining down upon the cracked and split street. The green changeling fell unconscious, and morphed back into his human self while gravity took a hold of him and sent him spiraling down to the ground. A black magic encased him as Raven halted his fall and began to lower him to the ground.

"RAVEN. LOOK OUT!"

Starfire's shriek pierced through Raven's concentration making her lose her hold over Beast Boy. She turned and cursorily flung up a weak shield. However it was not enough to stop the car that was soaring toward her face. The brutal impact sent her soaring across the street, skidding to a rough stop on the concrete.

Starfire let out a gasp of concern, and immediately flew toward the motionless girl. Cinderblock's large hand blocked her path however, and the Tamaranian alien expertly dodged it, weaving in and out of the clumsily villains' attempts to trap her.

"Yo, Star! Keep him busy!" Cyborg said vaulting out from under his cover. He barely acknowledged Starfire's confirmation, and sprinted toward Raven. The sound of Cinderblock's frustrated roars spurred him forward as he raced to reach his friend.

When Cyborg reached her, Raven sat up with a dazed look. Her eyes focused on Cyborg and she shook her head.

"You okay, Rae?"

"I'm fine, what about Beast Boy?" Raven asked. Her coarse voice sounded slightly disoriented.

"Man, it takes a lot more than that to knock me out for good. A little rough on the landing though, Raven."

The changeling appeared behind them, morphing from a fly to his human form. He extended a hand to Raven. The pale girl accepted it and was hoisted to her feet. Raven looked down at her shredded cloak and sent Cinderblock a look of pure fury.

"Whoa, Rae. I didn't know you were one to get upset about you fashion choices," Beast Boy joked and was rewarded with a hard slap to his head.

"HEY-"

"Guys. Focus," Cyborg said his eyes flitting between Starfire and the rest of the team.

"Did you get hold of Robin? He should be here by now," Beast Boy asked, looking around as if expecting him to appear.

"No, the communicators are being jammed by some signal. But I did catch some things. And it doesn't look good," Cyborg paused and looked back between Raven and Beast Boy, his stomach sinking with dread.

Raven narrowed her eyes at her robotic friend, picking up on his distress. "What?"

Cyborg took a deep breath. "I think this is a distraction, and there is only one person that can be behind it. And that one person has Robin all to himself right now," Cyborg said closing his eyes briefly, terrible scenarios rushing through his mind.

"Slade." The monotone word was spoken by Raven. Everyone visibly tensed as if the word would make the man himself appear.

"Bingo."

The single word echoed through the chaotic air and hung between the three teammates.

"No…" Beast Boy said, stepping back, his face sinking with dread.

"I can't deny what I heard. He's back BB. Slade is back," Cyborg said clenching his hands together.

"I thought he was gone…for good," Beast Boy muttered. His eyes flashed with pain as he looked up to his friend, hoping that this was a joke – that all of this was some big, terrible joke.

But what he saw was his own pain reflected in the other's eyes.

"I did too," Cyborg said reaching out and gripping his friend on the shoulder. Beast Boy stared at the ground, letting Cyborg's arm keep him anchored from the thoughts trying to drown his mind.

"We all did," Raven said. The wind whipped around her, throwing her torn and tattered cloak into the air. Her eyelids fluttered while her violet eyes flickered to a deep black. "Robin… is in some serious trouble…" She trailed off as silence pervaded the group once more.

"FRIENDS."

Starfire's plea broke the group out of their hypnotic trance, and all eyes shifted to the struggling Tamaranian girl.

"Please I cannot-AHH-keep this up-OW-much longer," Starfire yelled, barely missing Cinderblock's fist. The massive monster let out a challenging roar and furiously slashed at the ground.

"So what do we do?" Beast Boy asked, steeping forward.

A new sense of determination filled the group as they all locked eyes. A bead of strength threaded through them, giving the small group a renewed sense of vigor.

"We end this," Cyborg said lifting up his arm. The mechanical parts slid back, revealing his sonic cannon.

"Now."

"I'm surprised, Robin. I thought you could do better than this."

Robin flipped back and barely dodged a fist hurdling toward his face. The metal armor brushed past his cheek, sending chills down his back. A fist slammed into his ribs, sending shards of pain ricocheting up his body. Ignoring the pain, Robin shifted his weight and sharply countered with a powerful uppercut.

His fist was deftly caught, and the young vigilante froze as he locked eyes with his challenger.

"Too slow, Robin," Slade mocked smoothly; his single eye narrowed slightly.

"You always were."

Before Robin could blink, he was flipped and roughly thrown down onto his stomach.

With a whoosh, Robin felt all of the air rush out his chest, and his sore ribs jar with impact. His instincts screamed at him to move and Robin reflexively rolled over onto his back. Slade's bo-staff crashed onto the solid concrete roof with a deafening crack. The noise spurred Robin into action and the young boy sprung to his feet, hastily throwing his hands up in a defensive position.

Robin heaved air into his lungs as sweat poured down his face and onto the hot concrete below him. His hands drooped slightly while the masked man paused to observe the boy before him.

"Come now, Robin. I haven't even broken a sweat," Slade said while tossing his bo-staff to the ground.

With a frustrated roar, Robin charged at the villain and unleashed a flurry of attacks on the man. All of his attacks were blocked with a deft, adroit ease, and with each punch, kick, and uppercut, Robin felt his frustration grow into a raw, potent fury.

"Your anger makes you sloppy Robin," Slade taunted, deflecting a cursory punch to the face. Slade rolled his arm off of Robin's and grabbed the boy's elbow, yanking him forward.

Robin's cry of alarm was sharply cut off when Slade met the oncoming boy with a harsh kick to the stomach.

The power behind the brutal blow threw Robin backwards and the boy's back crashed onto the hard concrete. His momentum sent him spinning out of control toward the edge of the building. The ground underneath him vanished and he desperately reached out. His hand dug into the solid concrete, barely catching the edge of the building and halting his fall.

A cry of pain escaped his lips as the sharp edge bit into his hand and sliced a long cut into his skin. Red blood seeped onto the gray concrete, and Robin reached up and grabbed the edge with his other hand. He pressed the bleeding hand into his chest and let out a harsh moan of pain as he tried to pull himself up.

He hissed with pain as his bleeding hand fumbled with his utility belt. Blood smeared over the pristine yellow surface as he tried to find the compartment that held his grappling hook. Robin swore as his grip on the edge of the building slowly began to weaken. The blood from his hand had coated the outside of the latch that held his grappling hook and each time he tried to open it, his hand slipped.

On the fifth try, Robin gave up with an unceremonious grunt of frustration. Adrenaline flowed through his veins as he switched tactics and desperately pulled against the gravity that held him down. He thrashed his legs against the building, trying frantically to gain some momentum to hoist his body up and over the edge. A prickling sensation traveled up his arm and a shriek of frustration echoed in the air as his body stopped responding to his commands. He pulled, kicked, and screamed but he remained obstinately motionless on the edge of the building. With a loud huff of defeat, his arm went slack as all of his energy left him. He looked down at the ground below him and felt his mind go numb. It was a long way down.

Robin briefly allowed his eyes to flutter close as he exhaled a shaky breath. His body felt as if it had been hit by a truck – scratch that – multiple trucks. Every muscle ached and burned with a fiery pain that started to bleed into his mind. There was only so much he could take against the man, and he was close to reaching his limit. His thoughts turned to the Titans and a twinge of fear traveled through him. He had no idea what mess they were in right now. He only hoped his friends could handle themselves while he dealt with Slade.

As he hung off the side of the building, time seemed to blur in his head. How long had he been fighting against Slade now? Thirty minutes? An hour? A century?

His fingers dug into the concrete.

Robin exhaled and his eyes snapped open as a deep rooted sense of determination rose within him. However long it had been, he would keep fighting. He would protect his city. He would protect his friends. He would fight this man to his death.

With a cry that seared his raw throat, he heaved himself up and over the top of the edge, rolling to a stop the solid concrete. Spasms shot through his burning arm as he pushed himself to his knees and shakily rose to his feet. Blood dripped off of his hand and sweat plastered his hair to his forehead. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to give up, but his mind refused to listen. He would see this fight to the end.

Robin took a sharp step forward and squared himself off to fight, ignoring the groans of protest from his body. He lifted his blue eyes and met Slade's single, gray eye. The masked man stood before him, silhouetted by the evening sun as calm and composed as ever. Slade pressed his hands behind his back and narrowed his eye at the boy.

"Had enough?"

"We've only just started," Robing replied, his whole body taunt and tense.

A dark, chilling laugh echoed through the air as Slade stepped forward, clapping slowly.

"Bravo, Robin. I'm impressed," Slade said turning to the side. "I didn't think you would last this long."

Robin clenched his hands together, vainly trying to repress his anger. He was hurt. He was tired. He was barely able to stand. And yet Slade looked perfectly fine. Hadn't he been able to at least land a punch on the man?

"Cut the games, Slade, what are you planning? What are you doing back at Jump?"

"I thought you would never ask, Robin. You see, I'm back from what you would call a small hiatus," Slade paused and stared directly at the young vigilantly. "And I simply wanted to see how my favorite hero was doing."

The man paused, his dark eye narrowing.

"And by the looks of it, you've slacked off, Robin."

Robin let out a low feral snarl and matched Slade's unwavering look with a glare of his own.

"What have you done with the Titans?" Robin growled between his lips, every muscle tense and ready for action.

Slade considered the boy before him, and turned away. He moved toward the edge of the roof, and paused, cocking his head slightly in Robin's directions.

"I don't think Cinderblock should be too much of a challenge for them. I expect they will be here any minute now."

Robin dropped his arms to his sides, feeling his thoughts whirl around him as he studied the man before him.

Cinderblock? Slade had sent Cinderblock after the Titans?

"Then why…" he trailed off, blankly staring at the masked man as a torrent of questions escaped him. "Why jam the communicators? Why go to such a hassle to cause a diversion that will only lead the Titans here? Why didn't you just knock me out when you had the chance? Why did you…"

"You're a smart boy, Robin. I figured you would have put the pieces together already," Slade said still staring off into the sunset.

Silence rose between the pair as thoughts rushed through Robin's head. Nothing was adding up. Slade always had a plan. Always. But why couldn't he figure it out. This was way out of character for the masked man.

"So you went to all this trouble just to beat me up? Really, I'm flattered Slade," Robin drawled, feeling his frustration bite into him.

A dark chuckled echoed through the air sending chills rushing down Robin's back.

"No Robin, I have other…motivations for being here."

Slade whirled around, his single eye honing in on the boy in front of him. The man took a menacing step forward as a dark look flashed through his gray eye. He reached down and grabbed something from his utility belt. Robin tensed and reflexively drew his hands back up into a fighting position.

"ROBIN!"

Starfire's voice cut through the silence, and the boy briefly turned around, to see the alien girl flying toward him in the distance. Raven followed close behind, along with Beast Boy, who was carrying Cyborg.

"Starfire…" Robin felt the word ghost his lip as a hard force slammed into him. He crashed to the ground and rolled onto his feet. A strong hand gripped his arm from behind and twisted it behind his back, sending Robin to his knees. The young boy let out a cry of pure agony as his arm was extended farther and farther.

"It seems your friends arrived sooner than I'd expected, but I'm not through with you yet," Slade whispered, his voice just above Robin's ear.

Hot breath traveled down Robin's neck as the young boy grimaced in pain.

"What do you want, Slade?" Robin whispered, his voice cracking in agony. His eyes blurred in and out of focus as he stared meaninglessly at the ground. Slade moved his arm back ever so slightly, and Robin let out a short cry as beads of blood traveled from the cut on his hand.

"Take a guess."

The words ricocheted through Robin, slicing through the pain he was feeling.

"LET HIM GO!"

Robin glanced up and saw Starfire; her eyes were green with fury, and each hand held a glowing starbolt. Raven landed right behind her with black energy seeping and flashing around her feet. Beast Boy set Cyborg down on the ground, and morphed into a wild lion, letting out a vicious roar.

Cyborg stepped forward from the group, his sonic cannon charged and aimed at Slade.

"Titans. I wasn't expecting you so soon." Slade said smoothly. His grip on Robin slackened as thin, metal object was slid into the boy's hand.

"Let him go!" Beast Boy yelled, morphing back into his human form. The green changeling eyes darted from Robin to Slade, betraying the nervousness that hid behind his angry demeanor.

"Gladly," Slade said releasing his hold on the boy. The Boy Wonder collapsed to the ground as the masked villain slowly backed away.

"I would love to stay and catch up, but I have more important things to do," Slade said while ghosting toward the edge of the roof. Robin dimly recognized the sound of fading footsteps. Fighting down the fiery pain, he pushed himself off the ground and whirled around clutching the object in his bleeding hand.

"Slade!" Robin yelled, his eyes honing in on the masked man.

Hero and villain locked eyes, as the sun drooped even lower in the sky. Red and yellow swirled together in a fierce battle that silhouetted Slade in an outline of blazing darkness. The single gray eye eye pierced into Robin.

"I'll be waiting for an answer, Robin."

"Wait – "

"You know where to find me," Slade said, taking a final step back. Robin's hand brushed over his bird-a-rangs, but he made no move to throw one. He felt himself fall into a dazed trace-like state as Slade's deep gray eye bore into him. He watched in numb silence as the man took another step back and disappeared off the edge of the building and into the abyss beyond.

A collective gasp escaped the Titans. Starfire rushed to the edge, and peered over .

"He is…gone…" She whispered, staring back at Robin, who was slowly walking toward her.

Robin remained eerily silent. His pale face was blank and emotionless. Blood covered his uniform in large blotchy areas and poured out from his hand and onto the gray concrete. Starfire inhaled sharply and flew over to him, her eyes softening.

"Robin…Friend, are you okay?"

Her voice was so soft to Robin's ears. Its sweet melody flowed into him, pushing back the numb pain that threatened to envelope him. Her hand fell lightly onto his shoulder and Robin gave her a quick nod.

"I'm fine, Star…"

"We came as soon as we could," Cyborg said, his cannon reconfiguring back into his arm.

"But it seems it wasn't soon enough," Raven whispered, her violet eyes tracing over their leader. Dark purple bruises laced the visible portion of his arms, and his shallow breaths cut through the uneasy quiet.

Robin shrugged off Starfire's hand and took a few steps away from his team and away from their piercing gazes.

"I'm fine guys," he whispered, trying unsuccessfully to wave them away.

"YOU CALL THAT FINE! DUDE YOU JUST FOUGHT SLADE. SLAAAAADE. YOU ARE NOT FINE," Beast Boy yelled, stepping forward and throwing his arms into the air.

Robin held back an annoyed sigh and continued moving towards the edge of the rooftop. The setting sun burned into him. Colors blurred and swirled together in a chaotic haze as the masked villain's final words echoed through his head.

'You know where to find me'

The sun dipped even lower into the sky, barely illuminating the rooftop.

"I just….I just need some time to think."

His words were scarcely audible in deafening silence. If he had turned around, he would have noticed the worried glances his team had exchanged.

The five teenagers stood in silence as the last rays of sunlight disappeared from view. A metallic glare caught the young alien girl's eye, and she took a hesitant step forward.

"Friend Robin, what is in your hand?" Starfire asked, looking at it with concern. The Tamaranian girl moved closer, and Robin could feel her warm presence directly beside him.

A sinking dread filled Robin as he stared down at his closed, bloody hand. He had forgotten about the strange object Slade had slid into it. One by one he painfully released his fingers and felt his stomach sink at what was revealed.

Silence fell through the air as ten eyes stared down at a metal, bloody 'S'.

A/N: Okay what do you think? Leave a review and let me know! I hope you enjoyed! Next update will be soon!