Disclaimer: You heard the news? I know I can't believe it either! I don't own Teen Titans! Warner Brothers and DC Comics do. Also some of the quotes in this chapter aren't mine, either. They're in "Apprentice pt. 2".

Author's Note: I wanted to say thank you to all of my readers and reviewers. I haven't said that in a while and I feel you guys deserve it 'cause you guys rock. So I guess you all realize by now that Robin's going to have his first assignment. Well, a couple things are probably worth mentioning. This whole story (except Chapters One and Two) have been written in past tense. This chapter and the next have been and will be written in present, just as the first two chapters were. Also, some of these quotes are from the TV show as I said in the Disclaimer. Well, I hope you enjoy! May I present Chapter Twenty-One!

-T-

What?

Chapter Twenty-One

I wake up to the feeling of wet cold sheets from the melted ice packs. Strangely, I feel well rested. My jaw still hurts although only when I touch it now. I slowly remove the brace. The door opens and I see the bathroom door also open in the hallway. Quickly, I take a shower and run back into my room once I'm done.

I walk over to the dresser where my clothes are laid out. I see that it's the same uniform from the first day. I'm almost done but find that the chest plate, belt, and arm guards are missing. The door opens with Wintergreen in the doorway. He nods and I realize that I'm meant to follow. I know that he knows that I'm missing pieces of my uniform and I feel certain that he knows where they are.

We walk and right before the entrance to the main room, he stops and stands aside. Wintergreen gestures to the door. I look at him and then at the door. Slowly, I push open the door. In the main room, Slade's watching the monitors which show full-screen images of the nano-scopic probes in my friends. My gut tightens up with a sick worry. It was like a snake coiling up in my stomach. I remain silent. Then he turns and breaks the silence that so often comes when we're the only ones in the room.

"Well, how did you sleep, my apprentice?"

I respond, "Fine, but Slade... please, I didn't mean yesterday for any of this to..."

"Don't worry about yesterday, Robin," Slade walks up to me. Now, I'm worried. I notice that his tone is very authoritarian and almost controlling. It was like he was saying something very, very important... A lot like the night he made me his apprentice...

"Look, Slade, I'm sorry for yelling and..." He hasn't shown the monitors for about a week now.

"What did I say, Robin?" I'm quiet, "I said not to worry about it."

"Then why..." I start.

"The monitors?" He asks and I nod, "Just a little reminder for this evening."

"Evening?" I ask.

"It's 9:30 PM, Robin," I don't get any of this. How could I have slept... "I hope you don't mind. I gave you a sedative while you were sleeping so you'd be well rested."

I don't even have time to respond before he continues, "Tonight, you will have your first mission, my apprentice, which will commence in fifteen minutes."

I'm flabbergasted. First mission? Fifteen minutes? Sedative? Tonight?

"What?!"

"You will be stealing a Thermal Blaster from the Needle," Slade walks over to his desk as he says this, "You already know the route."

"I, I do?" Where is this coming from?

Slade answers, "The Cube. The first route yesterday is the Needle's layout and your objective is this."

In the center of the screen the blaster appears. I'm partially mesmerized until I notice that Slade has walked in front of me with my arm guards. He stares at me and I realize that I'm supposed to hold out my arms. Slade begins to put them on, tight and snug.

As he does so he says, "You will most likely end up seeing the Titans, Robin. And I trust that you will act accordingly. Right?"

I nod as I switch arms. I'm still too shocked to really say anything. It's like my body is there, present, but my mind is elsewhere, in a realm of thought. I'm going to see them? After two or three weeks?

"We will be receiving their incoming signals so we will know their positions. I'll be telling you what to do. Just listen and don't mess up," He finishes putting on my arm guards and goes over to his desk, where he picks up my chest plate.

My gaze returns to the monitors. 'And don't mess up' practically should have ended with 'or else'. I jump slightly as I feel him place the chest plate on me. He does nothing while I secure it. I fumble slightly with the clasps as I can't seem to tear my gaze away from the monitors. I don't know when it starts, but a sudden pump in my ear is recognizable and I realize how nervous I am. I don't feel ready for this. Physically, yeah I can do it. But...

I'm going to see them. And they'll see me.

Again, I don't realize it when Slade has moved back to his desk and then once again behind me. I think I jerk slightly when I feel his gloved hands hold my head in place, but then I don't move.

"I know that you can do this, my apprentice," His hands move from my cheeks to my ears, passing over my sore jaw and I slightly cringe at the pain.

"I will be there to direct your every move," Something cold, metallic, and a bit sharp on the inside is being placed in my ears... Small receivers. His voice comes from two places now. His grated mask and the receivers, "I know that you won't disappoint me."

I look at the monitors. As the blood pumps through the veins and arteries of my friends, I hear it continue in my own. Their names at the top of the screens in bold green. The little devices look like an inactive virus. I swallow. I nod slightly, too frozen to say anything still. Their lives are on the line.

I think of random moments. Cyborg yelling at Beast Boy for the "vegan" breakfast. Raven smiling at the thought of breakfast for dinner. Beast Boy dancing at being told that he was a "milnip wusserloop" by Starfire. And Starfire. Her sitting on the rooftop watching the sun rise after her sister's visit. For some reason, knowing that Star's life is on the line is the worst of it.

Slade leads me up to the roof. The fresh air hits me. The night has already enveloped the city. I can see Titans Tower in the distance. Slade puts my belt into my hand, obviously, filled with weapons that he may want me to use.

"Go on, apprentice," He whispers, commands, "Go on."

I clip on the belt and slowly walk to the edge of the building. 'It's for them,' I tell myself, 'It's all for them.' Already his voice fills my ear. This time it is more direct and militaristic. It's basic orders.

"What are you waiting for?" He asks me, now inside.

I don't question how he knows that I haven't started yet. I nod, figuring that he has me bugged somehow, and start off. I leap off the building and to the next. I continue and soon I can feel the adrenaline. It's a weird feeling. It's almost like I've been caged up and watched so much that being outside on my own is almost foreign. I like it, though. The fresh air invigorates my lungs and I breathe deeply. I keep running even when I start to feel a little off. I stop for a second.

"I'm feeding you their conversations..." He's tapping on the keyboard.

I want to say no, that I don't want to hear it, but it's too late.

"Robin? Robin! Please, Robin, where are you?" She's the first one I hear. They're still looking for me? She's saying the same thing that she was saying before. She was the last voice I heard and the first. It hits me like a fist to the face. I'm going to have to fight them. He'll make me fight them.

"Starfire, enough. You've been calling for forty-five minutes," Raven tells her. I try to focus on where and what my objective is instead of what they're saying.

"Perhaps if I just try one more..." Starfire starts out, but is cut off by Beast Boy.

"Come on, Star. If he's gonna pick up, he'd have done it by now. 'Sides, you're kinda giving me a headache."

'Great job ignoring it,' I think to myself.

"But why does he not respond? Where could he be?" She's concerned.

Cyborg cuts in, "Robin and Cinderblock definitely went a few rounds, but I can't tell who won... or where they went."

"No sign of him here either. His locator is still offline. I've been monitoring all the frequencies, but he hasn't checked in," She delivers this almost defeated.

Starfire's voice again fills my ears, "Oh, we are bad friends! We should never have left Robin to do battle alone."

Beast Boy adds, "Yeah, especially since Slade's big doo-dad was a dud."

They know it was a fake. They know that something must have happened (although probably nothing as traumatic as what actually has). I feel like a traitor. My muscles haven't had a good run like this in a while. I keep going. I can see the Needle.

"The Chronoton Detonator wasn't a dud. It was a decoy to lure us away from Robin... and we fell for it," Raven tells them, bluntly but nicely at the same time.

I hear concrete being smashed followed by Cyborg, "I shoulda known that thing was a fake!"

"But, why?" Starfire asks the question that I want so badly to tell her, "Why did Slade wish to separate us from Robin?"

"You're there?" Slade inquires of me.

"Yeah," I respond.

"Dive for it."

So I do.

As I fall, I hear Beast Boy start to ask the other question, "And if the Detonator was a decoy..."

Raven finishes, "What was Slade's real plan?"

I hear their alarm go off and realize that I already must have tripped something, even though I didn't remember any way to trip an alarm while 'sky diving' to the building. It doesn't matter. I've gotten myself into this mess and I have to deal with it.

"Titans! Trouble!" Cyborg yells.

They'll be here soon. But the sooner I get in and get out the less of a chance I'll actually have to face them. I land and open the vents. From there on in, I try to stay in the shadows. I really just don't want to be seen. Inside, I crawl into the room that holds the Thermal Blaster. I crouch as I land and remain in the shadows. I throw a weapon similar to my birdarangs at the container. It explodes. I walk up and take the Thermal Blaster. Yeah, I steal it. I feel dirty, then I hear the pounding of feet. I leave the area.

Someone yells, "He's stolen the Thermal Blaster!"

Someone else orders, "Stop him!"

I see the guards and begin to run. I loop around the outer porch. I have to loose them. I go into a summersault and leap into the air. I continue to stay in the shadows.

I know that I loose them when I hear them say, "Where'd he go?"

They run off. I look around and then land. Instead of being greeted by an empty area. They appear. The Titans.

"Freeze!" Cyborg yells.

My arms, legs, and whole body are numb, but I can feel the panic that surrounds me. It's also the first time I notice how each of them look when they go into battle. Cyborg looks assertive and ready to fight, his metallic skin gleams in the light in the area. Raven's cape and cowl consume her face as it normally does, but her glare is enough to give me the chills. Beast Boy looks tired and wants to get this over with, at least that's what is furrowed brow tells me. Despite the search that is being delayed, Starfire's ready to fight. She amazes me like that. No matter when there's a fight, she's ready for it. Their appearances are striking and I wonder how I looked.

I run the opposite way. I have to get back to Slade or else... They chase me. Like I thought that they'd do anything else. I keep going. They haven't seen me. I'm still in shadows. I want to keep in that way, but I don't think my wishes ever mean anything in situations like these. Ahead of me is a block. 'No...'

I skid to a halt. I can't hesitate for any reason. It's going to happen anyway. I might as well get it over with. I turn and know that I'm illuminated in the light. How? Their faces are a dead give away. Raven and Cyborg's jaws are dropped and Beast Boy's and Starfire's eye's are wide with shock. I know they see me in the black, silver, and orange. I know they see the "S" insignia on my chest and I know that they each realize what it must mean.

I realize that I wasn't ready for this. I don't see how Slade thinks or thought that I am. The controlled face comes in handy for once. I might have kept a stern face, but inside I was muddled in confusion, sorrow, and grief. I don't know what it must being doing to them to see me like this. Raven will need to meditate. Cyborg will try to put on a brave face for the rest of them. Beast Boy might try to step it up to the plate and try to help overcome the loss or something. I don't know what it's doing to Starfire.

I know that it very well could rival my own feelings. I want to say something, tell them that I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I want to let them know that I don't want to do this. I want to tell them about the probes. If I could tell them any of it, I would have. But I knew that Slade was listening to everything and was probably watching everything too. I couldn't do any of it. My heart hurts and not from the hormones of raging adrenaline and endorphins. I try not to take it personally, that they'd think that I was Slade or somehow related to his mayhem because right now, I am. But it's hard in so many ways. I have to bite my tongue.

"That's not Slade, that's..." Beast Boy starts.

Starfire finishes, "...Robin."

-T-

A/N: Well, how was it? I haven't done that tense in a while. Although, now you're probably wondering if we're getting close to the end of the story. No, we aren't. Slade's POV in the next chapter is also not the end. We still have some chapters to go. But we are getting closer, I will admit. I hope though that you liked this chapter. Please Review! Later!

Rena