AN: Hi everyone this is MysticGoth. It's my turn for a chapter and this one has some sexual content in it, but very little. :P Anyway, after you're done reading, please review! GuardianofAzarath and I really want to know what you think.

AN2: And a thank you goes out to Burning Truth, for his kind review last chapter, and also to Kuroi Roza Shiruba-suji, SyCo123 and others for subscribing.

Now, on with the chapter.

Chapter 11: A New State of Mind

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Cyborg woke up early the next morning with a towel over his shoulder. He was heading toward the training room for an early morning workout. But as he arrived at the training room, he heard groans from within. Looking confused, Cyborg entered the room. But what he saw made him stop in his tracks.

It was Rachel. Her dark red hair was in a braid that went down her back. She was wearing something Cyborg suspected Starfire had given her. She was wearing a black sports bra with tight white sweatpants. She was kicking and punching the punching bag in front of her.

Cyborg noticed the way the sweat poured down her naked flesh, the way her chest rose up and down, and the way her glasses kept falling to the bridge of her nose.

But before Cyborg's hormones went out of control, he noticed tears were running down Rachel's face.

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Without even acknowledging Cyborg's presence, Rachel grabbed onto the punching bag and whispered against it.

"Damn you, Slade, damn you."

She then growled as her eyes turned slightly red at the thought of her former father. She pulled back and gave the punching bag one final roundhouse kick. It sent the bag flying against the wall where it burst into dust, leaving nothing but the leather that was holding it.

Cyborg flinched at the strength of his new love. He turned to say something to her, but she fell to her knees sobbing her heart out. Cyborg ran to her and held her close.

Sobbing, Rachel felt cold arms wrap around her. She looked up and saw Cyborg's mismatched eyes. His human one was looking at her with worry and concern; it brought even more tears to Rachel's winter-lake blue eyes.

She leaned her head against his chest and she cried. She whispered against his chest.

"I should've stopped him Cyborg! I should've saved her!"

Cyborg said nothing as he held Rachel close to him. She needed his comfort right now, not words. His tightened his grip around her as her crying somewhat calmed down. He rested his head against hers before she whispered.

"Thank you, Victor."

Hearing his real name on her lips made his human heart speed up. It sounded like heaven to him. Looking back down at her, he focused on her blue eyes staring at him in love and gratitude.

Before he knew what he was doing, Cyborg leaned his head down to hover his lips dangerously close to hers, as if asking for her permission. But it was Rachel who closed the distance between them.

Kissing him softly, Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt herself being lifted up in his arms as they slowly stood. She then felt Cyborg's hands wrap themselves around her waist. Rachel then lifted her legs up and hooked them around Cyborg's metal waist as they deepened the kiss.

Cyborg pulled back to look at her with lust hinted in his human eye, he whispered against her lips.

"Rachel…we better stop…"

"Stop what?"

Rachel let out a squeak as she heard her father's voice at the doorway. She then looked back at Cyborg, whose face paled so quickly that it scared her. It seemed her father had a commanding presence.

Like it wasn't common knowledge that boyfriends are always afraid to meet the girlfriend's father, but knowing what her father was, that just brought a whole new level to the fear her father could create.

Abel Nightroad crossed his arms over his chest as he saw his daughter and Cyborg in a lover's embrace. It brought a foreign ache to his chest. He remembered a time when he and Esther were in the same exact embrace so long ago.

Approaching them slowly, he could feel the fear from Cyborg and he smiled kindly at them.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you for…whatever you were doing with my daughter. She is an adult and I respect that."

Rachel and Cyborg both let out a slow breath in relief before Cyborg put Rachel down gently. Rachel still kept her arms tightly wrapped around his waist, letting him know she was there for him. She then turned back to her father.

"So, what are you doing up so early, father?"

Abel smiled as she called him father. He felt his heart thump slightly in pride and he wished that Richard would accept him like Rachel had. He sighed as he ran his hand through his silvery hair.

"I heard some noises in here and I was wondering the same thing about you, Rachel. What are you doing up so early?"

Rachel looked down and Cyborg held her close. She pushed him away, making him stagger some under her strength.

"I came in here because I needed to be alone. After what happened yesterday…"

Abel sighed in sympathy toward his daughter. He approached her and hugged her, she didn't push him away. Instead he held onto him tight, crying silently against his chest. Abel held her close to him, rubbing his hand down her back in comfort.

"It wasn't your fault, Rachel. You did everything you could. There is only one person to blame for all this and its Cain. Not you."

Rachel pulled back and nodded. Abel then looked at Cyborg. "Take Rachel back to her room please. Her room, not yours, do you understand?" Cyborg nodded before he took Rachel's hand and they both walked out of the room together.

Sighing again, Abel followed after them and headed to the main room where he found Robin typing furiously. Raven was sitting on the couch reading as usual. He noticed there was note of hostility between them and he couldn't blame them.

The past two days had been hectic for all of them. He then heard a voice behind him.

"You find Rachel and Cyborg, Tovaras?"

Abel smiled at the sight of Asta. Then he looked down at the clothing she was wearing and he stifled a laugh.

"Starfire gave you clothes, Asta?"

Narrowing her eyes at Abel, Asta straightened the tight pink tank top she wore. She also wore tight hip-huggers and no shoes.

"She said that I would need clothes until my uniform could be washed. And since I don't have any spare uniforms, I'll have to tolerate these." She then narrowed her eyes further. "If I catch you laughing, Priest, I might just arrange for Starfire to give you a change of uniform. I'm sure she'd relish the opportunity."

Abel gulped, and paled slightly, before giving her a nod. "N-n-no problem, Asta." before he turned and looked around. It seemed that Starfire and Ion were missing. He wondered where they were.

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Starfire blinked opened her green eyes as the sunlight went across her face. She raised her hand to cover her eyes. She then heard a voice in front of her.

"Good morning, Star."

Jumping up from her bed in alarm, Starfire fell off the bed. She looked up to see Ion smiling at her. Starfire quickly straightened her tousled red hair at the sight of him. Standing up, she ran her hand down her skirt and top as she blushed red.

Ion chuckled as he crawled over the bed towards her and kissed her softly.

"You know you're cute when you blush."

Starfire smiled then embarrassingly as she blinked her eyes lovingly.

"Thank you, friend Ion. I mean, boyfriend Ion."

Ion smiled widely, showing off his fangs before he kissed Starfire again, pulling her back down to her bed. He lay down on top of her, kissing her even more deeply. Starfire pulled away after a minute, pushing him away.

"Ion, we cannot do this. I am still with Robin! Do you know what would happen if he found you here with me?!"

Nodding in agreement, Ion pulled away from Starfire. He sighed as he laid beside her, staring at the ceiling. He wrapped his hand around hers tight as he said.

"I know what would happen, but I don't care. I think…I mean I know that we've only known each other a short time, but…I think I'm falling in love with you."

Starfire gasped at Ion's confession. He was falling in love with her? Did he truly mean what he said? She turned her head toward him. Ion's amber eyes were closed as Starfire reached out to brush her hand against his cheek. Opening his eyes, Ion locked his eyes with Starfire's green ones.

"Do you truly mean what you said?"

Ion smiled as he nodded. Touching the hand that was on his cheek, Ion said softly. "I mean it more than you can comprehend, Star. I fell in love with you the moment you first smiled at me. You had me the moment you said hello."

Tears forming in her eyes, Starfire leaned down and kissed Ion passionately. She felt Ion's arms wrap around her as he pulled her closer to him. Laying her on top of him, Ion let his hands travel down her body, delighting in the way Starfire squealed in pleasure.

Pulling away from her lips, Ion saw the desire and love in Starfire's green eyes. Her heart hammering in time with his, Starfire leaned down to kiss his jaw, and then down to his neck where she felt chills spread all over Ion's body. Ion whispered. "Starfire… we have to stop before we…go too far."

But it seemed that Starfire didn't hear him, she gently bit his collarbone as she whispered.

"I do not care. I have fallen for you too, boyfriend Ion. Now show me what it means to be a woman."

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Walking down the corridor, Robin was still pissed off. Not only at himself, but at Raven also, for being so stubborn. Not that he couldn't blame her, what happened to her was unthinkable. He could feel his Crusnik side flare up at the thought of the monster that took her innocence away. And no matter what Abel said, Robin was proud of the fact that he finally killed that monster.

But his thoughts were interrupted when he heard something strange coming from the end of the hallway. Following the noises, Robin walked past Cyborg's, Beast Boy's and his room to only end up at Starfire's room. His heightened senses heard the noises from within and it made his stomach drop uncomfortably.

What was going on in there?

Not even bothering to knock, Robin typed in Starfire's room code and what he found made the color fade from his face and he faintly heard his heart shatter inside his chest.

Starfire was top of Ion, kissing him. But that's not what Robin was shocked by. He was shocked by the fact that they were both naked. And his high sense of smell was clouded by the scent of sex. He felt sick and heartbroken.

It was then that Starfire noticed him. Her eyes widen in shock and embarrassment as she said to Robin.

"Robin, it is not what it looks like!"

Tears formed in his blue eyes, being thankful he had his mask on at that point, as he looked between the vampire and his now ex-girlfriend. Ion didn't look embarrassed at all, instead he looked calm as he rubbed Starfire's naked arm which brought on Robin's anger to the full-front, and he glared at Starfire.

"Then what am I seeing, Starfire? You're naked with another man! I can't believe you! After all that we've been through and the many times you told me that you loved me, you still went and cheated on me!"

Starfire made an uncharacteristic scoff at him. She crossed her arms over her chest, where the sheet covered her body. She glared at him. "I cheat on you?! Oh no, Robin, you were the one who cheated on me first!"

That just confused Robin to no end. "I never cheated on you!" Starfire scoffed again as she got off the bed, covering herself more with the sheet as she approached him. She then said to him, tearfully.

"Then what about friend Raven, huh? Ever since you turned into….this…Crusnik…you have been acting very strange around her. And before, you acted as if I was the only one in your world. I guess you had a heart of the change. You chose her, not me. I get it, Robin, but do not tell me that you do not love her! I see it every time you look at her and even before we kissed in Tokyo, you had feelings for her. I knew it when you went after to save her during the end of the world. And I saw it when she hugged you; it made perfect sense to me. So do not act like you do not know what I am talking about! You love her and you know what? I accepted that! So I moved on with someone who can actually love me and not love someone else! So I say to you now that it is over between us! We are through!"

And without waiting for Robin to reply, Starfire shoved him out of her room and closed the door in his face, locking it.

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Blinking in disbelief, Robin just stood there frozen. Everything that Starfire had said raced through his mind, making his broken heart shatter even more. What had he done? He been trying to deny his own feelings for so long, that he thought he didn't have them, but as Starfire said, they had shone through even without him knowing it.

Not even realizing his feet were moving, Robin arrived back at his room. He opened the door with his telekinesis and when the door closed he let out the emotions he was trying so hard to hide. Tears filled his eyes as he fell on his knees. His body started to shake from the heartache he felt at that moment. Then before he knew it, he was sobbing his heart out. He curled into a fetal position on the floor, not caring about the weakness he was showing.

He was broken now.

In the back of his mind, he felt his Crusnik side saying to him.

"You knew this was going to happen. You should've just gotten together with Raven instead of the slut. And then none of this would've happened."

Robin growled out through his sobs. "Shut the fuck up. I don't want to hear you."

"Well, it's too late for that, now isn't it, Dick? This is what you are. You are a Crusnik. And you love Raven."

Getting up from the floor, he looked toward his full-body mirror and he growled at his reflection.

"Get out of my head!"

Then his reflection changed. It changed to his Crusnik form. When he first saw it, he gasped in terror at what he was seeing. He reached out hesitantly and his reflection reached out as well and when their hands touched, Robin pulled back instantly. He asked his Crusnik side.

"What do you want from me?"

His Crusnik side smirked as he stared at his human counterpart with his red eyes. He sighed. "Look, I didn't choose to be this either, but we got to accept it. We are a monster. But we are also a hero."

Robin looked away as he considered that. "But Raven's right. We killed innocent people. We shouldn't be allowed to live after that." His Crusnik side stifled a laugh. "If those criminals were innocent then we're Slade, oh wait he's dead, never mind."

At that comment, Robin wanted to ring the Crusnik's neck, but he remembered he was talking to himself. "I'm really going insane, aren't I? I'm talking to my own reflection, my Crusnik reflection no less." His Crusnik side smirked again, his red eyes glowing with humor in his eyes.

"That may be, but we have bigger problems than you going loco in la cabasa. Raven is another problem we have to deal with; she needs us now more than ever."

"But how can I talk to her without her yelling at me? She blames me for everything that happened to her since I found out I was a Crusnik."

Looking back at his reflection, Robin saw his Crusnik side look toward somewhere else and another person joined them. Robin looked behind them and there was no one around. He then looked back and he saw another Raven, except this one had a light violet cloak on. Crusnik-Robin smiled at her before kissing her gently. He then pulled back and said to his human counterpart.

"Robin, meet Love, one of Raven's many emotions."

When Robin's eyes met the light violet eyes of the Raven emotion, he saw things he never saw with the real Raven. She was looking at him with so much emotion and it made his heart pound in ways he never thought possible.

Love smiled at the way Robin was looking at her. She then said in a soft voice. "Raven has not forgiven you. She believes that you didn't love her enough to save her from Slade. But deep in her heart, she still loves you."

Shaking his head, Robin reached to touch Love's face, but he couldn't. He couldn't shake off the feeling of how much he wanted to hold her. Ignoring those feelings, Robin said to her. "I tried to save her and I guess…"

"You lost control of your anger for what Slade had done to her. That's what fuels your powers, Robin. Your emotions. That's why Raven hides hers away. Your anger on Raven's behalf caused you to kill Slade and most of the Hive Five. You may have thought you've done it for a good reason, but you didn't. You should've done exactly what Rachel said. You should've been there to comfort Raven and instead you went on a killing spree. So what does that say about you, Robin?"

Listening to what Love was telling him, Robin felt like she was right. He should've been here and comforted Raven, but instead he lost control of his emotions. He then asked her.

"What can I do to make this right?"

Love smiled at him as it seems he was beginning to understand. "First of all, you need to let Abel train you to control your emotions. Unlike other Crusniks, your powers are controlled by your human emotions. Since you and Rachel are twins, she also has that power. You two need to work on dealing with your anger. But for right now, you should apologize to Raven and Starfire." Crusnik-Robin rolled his eyes. "Why do we need to apologize to Starfire? She cheated on us!" Love glared at him before she reached up to smack him on the back of the head.

"She may have cheated on you but you cheated on her first with Raven. And you need to apologize to her, apologize for leading her on the way you did. Also, then you give her blessings to her new relationship with Ion."

Robin saw his Crusnik side scoff at that, but he knew that Love was right. He would need to apologize to both of them. He said to her. "Don't worry, Love, I'll make this right. I'll go and apologize to Star…"

"No! Go apologize to Raven first! She's your first priority, stupid! And she's the one you love and also I think Starfire might be a little busy at the moment." Glaring at his evil counterpart, Robin saw Love nod. "I hate to admit it, but he's right. Raven is your number one priority. Apologizing to her may be best for now. Starfire, on the other hand, needs time to regroup. She can't stay mad at you forever; she will forgive you very quickly."

Once again, Crusnik-Robin scoffed and Love glared at him. Robin couldn't help but grin at the sight. They acted like an old married couple. Then it dawned on him that he and Raven would be exactly the same way. Smiling even more, he said to them.

"Okay, you two bicker while I go and apologize."

But as soon as he walked away, the images faded from the mirror. He blinked as he muttered to himself. "Yeah…I've gone insane. Padded room for one in Arkham Asylum, please and don't forget the straightjacket." Shaking his head, Robin walked out of his room, back toward Raven's room.

As he passed Starfire's room, he heard quiet murmurs of pleasure and it made his heart constrict in pain, but he knew it was for the best. Starfire has her own life and she chose Ion over him. Better a vampire than a terrifying Crusnik.

Cringing at that thought, Robin kept on walking until he arrived at Raven's room. He raised his hand toward the door, preparing to knock but before he could, the door opened to reveal Raven.

At the sight of her and against his will, his heart started to pound inside his chest. Raven stood there in her normal outfit, with her hood up, glaring at him through her hidden violet eyes. The eyes that Robin had fallen in love with so many times and yet he never knew about his true feelings until this very moment. But he knew Raven wouldn't accept it. If he said to her that he loved her, she'd slam the door in his face and accuse him of lying to her.

So, for now all Robin could say was. "I'm sorry, Raven."

Raven crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against the doorway. She said to him like she was smirking. "You're sorry. Sorry is not going to cut it this time, Robin. You knew I was in danger. Why didn't you come sooner?"

Sighing, Robin shook his head. "I don't know. I guess I just wasn't thinking…" Raven interrupted him. "Yeah, you weren't thinking alright. All you were thinking about was revenge against Slade and everything he has done to you. Didn't even think for one second about the fact that I was injured? That I was the one that was violated? No because all you were thinking about was yourself. So you can take that sorry and shove it up your ass because I'm not listening to your apologies anymore. It's too late for that now."

Raven then turned away to go into her room. She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She visibly cringed at the contact, glaring over her shoulder at Robin. "Get your hands off me, Robin. I don't like to be touched, especially by you."

Taking his hand off her shoulder, Robin sighed again. "Sorry, it's just I want you to hear me out. I've been thinking about this… a lot and…I want to be friends again. Like the way we were before."

Turning back toward Robin, Raven could feel the sincerity in his gaze. He meant every word he spoke. Clearing her throat, Raven asked calmly. "You want to be friends again? Just friends?"

Shrugging, Robin said. "At least for now. If our relationship becomes more, let it, but for right now, I just want us to rekindle what we lost." Raven raised an eyebrow. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Robin?"

"This is the real me, Raven. Crusnik powers or not, this is the real me."

Raven looked away from Robin's gaze before she said. "Okay, I'll give you another chance, but know this, I do not forgive you. It'll take time for me to let bygones be bygones. I'm willing to try to go back to what we were before everything that has happened over the past few days. But don't expect a miracle."

Robin smiled at her as he took her hand and lifted it to his lips. He gently kissed her knuckles as he said. "I promise you, you will not regret this, Raven. I promise I'll be better than I was."

Scoffing, Raven smiled slightly. "I'll have to see it to believe it." She then pulled her hand away from Robin's. She then turned back around and once again, Robin was met with a door in his face. But this time, Robin was still smiling.

She hadn't forgiven him completely, but it was a start.

Walking away from her door, Robin then made his way to the main room where he saw Abel staring out of the windows toward the city. Taking a deep breath, Robin made his way over to his biological father.

Feeling his presence, Abel turned around and said. "I thought you would never want to speak to me again after what happened." Robin looked down at the floor, feeling like a little kid being scolded.

"I know I did a lot of bad things. Horrible things and I'm sorry. I'm man enough to know when I was wrong. But I need you now, even though I have not accepted you as my father, I need you to train me, train me to control my powers and my emotions."

Speechless, Abel considered that. In fact, he was proud of his son in that moment that he came to him. He smiled at him. "I'll train you, but you need to know all the facts first. And of how we Crusniks came to be, about your future, and… your mother, Esther Blanchett."

At the mention of his mother, Robin felt sadness overwhelm him. Even though he barely knew his real mother, he felt that loss so close to his heart since his adoptive mother died. There were times that he needed a mother's touch and it seemed that he will never know his real mother's touch.

He looked up back at Abel, blinking back the tears that had formed behind his mask. He could also see that Abel was hiding tears as well. It occurred to Robin that he was not the only one hurting when it came to his mother, this man before him loved her and he died to protect her. Feeling a little more gratitude toward Abel, Robin said.

"I want to know about the future, and my mother. Tell me everything."

Smiling through his unshed tears, Abel led Robin to the couch. They had so many things to talk about and so little time before the next tragedy hit them.

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Cain's Lab, Brotherhood Complex. Paris.

Cain stood in front of the large circular ring, the design and construction wasn't the same as his first machine, since he didn't have the same materials to use, but Brain had assured him it would work.

He didn't bother to acknowledge said mastermind as he approached, making Cain's skin crawl in disgust. He turned toward the Brain as it said to him.

"Preliminary tests are complete, Cain. The next faze of testing is ready to begin."

"Very well." Cain replied as he turned right back around, not wanting look at the Brain more than he had to. He had more important plans to execute, something to bring even his brother, the all-powerful Crusnik 02, to his knees.

He then he heard the Brain order behind him.

"Madame Rouge, begin test power-up sequence."

Smiling evilly at the swirling vortex, Cain thought. "You think I would surrender this easily, brother? Oh no, you and your children are going to suffer and I will be the one to triumphant in this war. Time to bring in the Queen."

AN: That's the end of chapter 11 and remember, please review! :D

MysticGoth