Beyond the Titans
Cruel Fate

His worst fears...

What exactly were his worst fears?

Robin contemplated what his worst fears were when he heard the slamming sound, his mind first jumping to the idea of Slade slamming Kid Flash into the side of the shipping container Robin found himself kept in. Sweat dripped down his face still, the warmth from inside the shipping container likely getting the better of him as he sat there tied up. After all, Kid Flash didn't have the strength Aqualad, Superboy, or Miss Martian had, making him the one candidate to slam into the side.

Of course, the girl from the morning said she was the one who saw Slade, yet for some strange reason, he didn't think that she'd be the one getting slammed easily into the side of the shipping container. His mind felt woozy, indicating heat exhaustion was indeed kicking up – something which would result in him being bedridden the next few days if Batman and Agent A had their ways. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out.

Instead, the person he saw slammed against the side of the shipping container was in fact, Slade.

One hand darted up to his face despite the mask already covering his eyes. His stomach churned; he felt like throwing up while his mind fought back the memories which accosted his brain. He definitely wasn't thinking straight, given the fact he knew he shouldn't feel pity for a man like Slade, yet there was the sickening fact Slade was John, something his mind still struggled with reconciling with. A shudder ran down his spine.

"Stop. Please stop."

"He's trying to hurt you."

"He's John."

"Wait. He's your dead cousin?"

Of course, the girl shouldn't know about his dead cousin yet she very much did know who his cousin was, causing him quite a lot of turmoil regarding the matter. His eyes focused in on Slade, unsure of how to respond to the man. The heat exhaustion – he definitely needed to admit this was setting in – definitely played around with his thought process. Mentally, he tried imagining John's face behind the mask, only for skeletal facial features to pop into his head.

He stepped backward at that moment, taken aback by the memory.

He felt Anna – Zatanna – place her hands on his shoulders, steadying him, his mind trying to make sense of the memory he didn't even realize he had, not to mention the fact there was a time when said memory for some strange reason didn't sicken him – not like it did now that he knew Slade – this version of Slade, was John. He felt panic set in, his mind racing to figure out what he should do.

Involuntarily, or perhaps quite voluntarily he stepped forward.

"Robin. Don't."

"Don't what?" He watched Slade intently, watching the man let out a groan from where he slumped over. There was a definite dent where this girl shoved him into the shipping container, something Robin hadn't realized while he and Zatanna were inside. He continued stepping forward, but Slade looked up, almost as if watching him carefully.

"I know you want to reason with him because he's your cousin, but he's not in his right mind."

"I still want to try." He glanced over his shoulder at Zatanna. "I want to try."

"I don't know. I don't think..."

He ignored her. In the back of his mind, he couldn't stand the idea of John dying yet again, yet in the back of his mind, he knew if he were guilty he should serve time. Problem was, what was this Slade's crimes and the crimes of the other Slade – that wasn't quite clear. He wondered as well if the actual Slade abandoned this Slade. "Hey."

"What do you want."

"To reason with you."

"Because of who I am."

"Because of who you are."

"Seriously..."

"And what's wrong with that?" Robin felt Slade was now patronizing him, which made him step closer. His hands clenched firmly at his sides, his mouth twisting in anger, knowing he simply wanted his cousin back instead of what his cousin became.

"Robin, you're not exactly in your right mind right now either. In case you have noticed, you've overheated inside that shipping container, right."

Robin turned towards the strange girl, irritated she might interfere. "Look..."

Of course, this strange girl wasn't the only one with a worried look on her face. The other was, in fact, Zatanna, who held up her hands. "Robin, I need you to back..."

Her advice sort of fell on deaf ears or more of fell on ears which couldn't react to her suggestion of backing away due to her suggestion coming too late. He heard Slade move, realizing he'd made the mistake of turning his back on the man, allowing the man to move forward and place him into a headlock. Robin's breath sucked in deep, his eyes closing.

He felt afraid.

Rarely did he ever feel afraid, which –

He'd likely contemplated this before, the fact he'd gone up the likes of Penguin and Joker and not ever felt as afraid as he did now. He took a deep breath, wishing he wasn't feeling torn either between his own safety and the safety of the man who – Robin's instinct told him – likely did some very bad things.

Another memory slipped into his mind unbidden, of the man grabbing him by the back of his hair, treating him unkindly, in a way that John never would. Robin's eyes clenched shut, his mind screaming out that he didn't want any of this – that he simply wanted John back, that his John would never do those things, yet his body trembled, realizing he was now afraid of someone he'd never expected to be afraid of.

"Is this even a relationship we can repair, given what he's done in the past. Why the hell do I still want this? Why am I..." Robin's eyes opened, realizing he was going to that dark place he went whenever the anniversary of his parent's death came up, a place he always hated going because it always negatively affected his ability to react to situations. His hands touched the man's arm lightly. "Someone. Help me. Help me, please. Keep me from sinking into the darkness and becoming like Batman."