A/N- So um this is a new chapter? Yep. Here you go. It's…something. I can't decide if I like it or not.

Battle Scars

Chapter 10: Found But Lost

He could hear the screams from three blocks over. Robin raced the last few meters to the dilapidated houses, throwing his R-Cycle aside onto the ground as he ran towards the first house.

Another chilling scream. His heart was pumping furiously in his chest as he threw open another door. Where was it coming from? The scream was closer now, and very shrill and frightening and feminine. He knew it was Raven.

He threw open another door and slammed it shut, disgruntled. These goddamn condominiums were all linked together so he kept walking over into the next house. Then came a final, choked cry and he stopped in his tracks, eyes shut tightly. It was so silent that he could hear himself breathing. And the scream, it had come from right below him. Right now the sudden silence was what scared him the most.

Robin took a quick left turn and finally found what he had been looking for- a small door nestled under the stairs that would lead to a basement. He swung the door open, all stealth forgotten, and vaulted himself over the railing. He landed neatly on his feet and rose slowly, squinting. The room was so dark that it was hurting his eyes.

He suddenly became aware of someone breathing shallowly across the room. Robin cautiously followed the sound until he came upon a body curled on the ground. Hardly breathing for fear, Robin knelt down next to the body. Now that he was so close, he could finally see the pale skin and dark, ripped cloak, and he reached out his hand to touch Raven's face.

A thin hand firmly gripped his wrist, and shocked, Robin looked straight into Raven's eyes. He had an unnerving feeling that she couldn't see him at all.

"Raven…"
"Get…get away." The hand on his arm was starting to shake. Robin reached down and gripped both of Raven's shoulders.

"Raven, it's me." She blinked hard and her gaze blearily focused on him.

"R-Robin? Don't- don't touch me, please."

He looked down at her, frowning. "What did he do to you?"

And then Robin heard that laugh, and he heard the door he had entered from swing shut. Raven's hands gripped his arms tighter, nails digging in so tightly that he winced. She felt torn between an instinctual need to keep him close, and an overwhelming fear of him.

"You've finally arrived, Robin. And guess what? Raven is afraid of you. How does it feel?"

"What? Raven isn't-," he looked down at her and saw that her eyes had gone cloudy again. He moved his hand toward her face and his heart sunk when she shied away from his touch.

The Scarecrow laughed. "It will never be the same, will it?"

"I'm going to get Raven to the tower and we'll reverse whatever you did!"

"Who said that you were going to be allowed to leave?"

Robin started to speak, but suddenly his chest felt heavy and he started coughing, harder and harder, until he was on all fours and gasping for breath. There was some kind of smoke- but he couldn't stop it from coming, not when his lungs were on fire like this.

"Ra-ra-raven…," he gasped out. The girl stayed where she was, although a faint flicker of emotion ran through her eyes. She slowly got to her knees beside Robin, but then stopped short when a hand grasped her shoulder.

"Now, now, little Raven." She looked up at him; her eyes had gone cloudy again, but her delicate hands were curling into fists. "Remember what he has done to you. They weren't dreams."

Robin was curled into a ball on the floor, his body occasionally wracked with dry coughs. Raven made another move to go towards him, but the Scarecrow's grip on her shoulder tightened.

"Young lady, it seems you haven't learned much from your stay here. Perhaps we need more time in the other room?"

Raven was more active now, shaking her head vigorously, fear etched onto her face.

"Oh, I think we do."

"No, please!" His hand fastened around her wrist, and she pulled away from him. "No!"

"Do you think you have a choice? I own you now, Raven."

"You will never own me!" Raven's eyes glowed white, and the Scarecrow stepped back in surprise. "You stay away!"

"You- you shouldn't be this powerful. You shouldn't be able to stand up to me." He was bewildered, and rightly so. Raven just smirked at him.

"Well, it seems that you've underestimated me." Her hands glowed with energy, and she shot it out towards him until it surrounded his whole body, flattening him against the wall.

"Stop the gas," she snarled.

"But I-,"

"Shut up, and do it. Before I lose my patience." The aura grew darker, creeping over the Scarecrow's face. Her head was pounding, and she swallowed hard so she could keep seeing straight, and maintain this short bout of control. Maybe it was all she needed to escape.

"Okay, okay!" He reached down to his jacket, arm still held back slightly by Raven's magic, and made a face like he was searching for something. Grinning, he pulled two small spheres from his pocket, and Raven made to stop him, but her response was too late. He threw them to the floor and startlingly bright light flared up around her with a release of gas. Raven brought her hand to her mouth to suppress the coughing, swearing when she realized that she had let go of the villain. It was too cloudy with gas now for her to pin him down and she couldn't muster the concentration to track him. The room was spinning, and she tried to clear away the fog but it stayed thick and yellow.

Suddenly a cold hand wrapped around her throat and she grabbed at it feebly. Her head was pounding even more severely now, and the gas was still thick. She felt the Scarecrow's grip tighten as he lifted her into the air, slamming her into the wall. Finally she saw his face emerge from the mist.

"You don't even know what fear is yet. Let me teach you." He brought his free hand closer to her face, as if he was going to touch her- she could hardly even see anymore, she just wanted to sleep, and his hand seemed like it was glowing- but then his grip slackened, and she fell to the ground.

"Don't you dare touch her." The mist had finally cleared, and Robin seemed to have gotten to his feet, albeit weakly, clutching at his side.

"And you think that you can stop me?" There was an explosion from above, and plaster rained from the ceiling.

"He can with our help." Cyborg appeared at the foot of the stairs, grinning triumphantly, flanked by Starfire and Beast Boy. "Robin, if you'd give the order?" Robin looked back at his teammate and smiled.

"Titans, go!"

Cyborg charged forward first, his sonic cannon glowing blue. Meanwhile, Starfire took a path in the air, shooting starbolts down on the Scarecrow from above. Beast Boy then morphed into a mouse and skittered to the Scarecrow's feet, transforming then into a snake and wrapping himself around the villain's legs. While the Scarecrow dodged Cyborg and Starfire's blasts with ease, the attack from Beast Boy surprised him and he fell, making Cyborg and Starfire's hits more effective.

Meanwhile, Robin ran to Raven's side, using his arms to gingerly pull up the upper half of her body. Her eyes opened slowly, but instantly widened when she saw Robin's face above her own.

"Robin- don't- get away- please, don't touch me. I…I," he could see conflicting emotions running freely across her face.

"Raven, it's me, I…" Her face settled into a state of utter confusion, but her body was still trembling in his arms.

"Don't worry Raven, we'll fix this. We'll make you better again." He called Cyborg over to them and had him pick up Raven, much to Cyborg's confusion. The rest of the team, having outmaneuvered the Scarecrow, elected to wait in the abandoned condominium for the police's arrival. Robin followed Cyborg out to the T-Car and picked up his R-Cycle, straddling it.

"I'll see you two back at the tower."

Cyborg, still confused, managed a nod as his friend sped away.

A/N- So there you go, that was it. There'll be more hopefully soon, but I can't make any promises. If I'm taking too long, just PM me like crazy and maybe it'll get my butt into gear. I hope you liked the chapter.