Here we go, Chapter 3! By the way, if anyone has any suggestions for the title, I'd be happy to take them. I'm not thrilled about the title, it was something random I thought up at two in the morning when I was eager to post. Once again, this writing might not be as good as usual, but I hope you like it anyway. Review, please!

000000000000000000000000000000

"Robin! Look out!"

A curse tore its way free of Robin's lips as he threw himself to the side, landing hard against the ground, barely avoiding fiery missile that screamed past where his head had been a moment before. He felt the blast from the weapon ruffle his spiked hair as his limp body skidded away across the stony ground, sending pebbles flying over the edge of the nearby cliff and into the roaring surf below.

Thrown to the fringes of the fight, he took a moment to look over the situation, trying to pick out his teammates against the tide of black-and-yellow HIVE drones that swarmed over the cliff at the eastern edge of Jump City. He could see Cyborg, a blaze of silver and blue as he blasted and battered mercilessly at the enemies around him; Star circled above, raining a constant barrage of green fire down at the attacking robots. At the edge of his vision, Robin saw several drones fly through the air as dinosaur Beast Boy trampled his way through them, tail lashing, teeth flashing in every direction.

And yet as hard as the Titans fought, it remained devastatingly clear that they were outnumbered, and badly. For every drone that the superheroes destroyed, another one poured from the strange ship, looking like nothing so much as a black-and-yellow version of the T-car, that hovered off the cliff edge. Staring at the bizarre vehicle, Robin for the first time noticed the red figure standing on top of it, clad in long, billowing robes, half-human face twisted into a sneer, silver cyborg claws lifted in a gesture of victory.

Brother Blood.

Robin's masked eyes narrowed, his hands clenched into fists around the staff that he whirled around in a deadly silver blur. Feeling his trademark battle cry bursting from between his bared teeth, he threw himself into the fray, sparks fountaining up about him as his staff smashed through robotic skulls, leaving a trail of shattered metal skeletons in his wake.

"Star!" he shouted, his voice barely audible above the clamor of battle, "Star, get Brother Blood! Quick!"

He couldn't afford to look up and see if she had heard him, but he saw the blaze of green light from the corner of his eye that meant his order had been obeyed. He heard as though from a great distance the criminal mastermind's gruff voice, unmistakably infuriated, shouting something unintelligible; then, a sound that tore at his heart, Starfire's high-pitched scream and the roar of a laser cannon discharging its deadly blast.

He heard Beast Boy give an animal roar, and the green dinosaur changed into an emerald elephant that began to plow its way through the massed ranks of the robots, trampling countless drones under its feet as it headed straight for the strange ship and its occupant. Out of the corner of his eye, Robin saw Cyborg doing the same, battling towards the edge of the cliff, sonic cannon blazing more quickly than his eyes could follow. Ducking the clenched fist that was swinging towards his head, Robin smashed his staff through the middle of a robot that was menacing him, kicking the hissing remains out of his way. Shouting and lashing out in all directions, the three heroes fought their way through the mechanic masses towards a single point, a single foe, who stood watching them calmly through one human and one cybernetic eye.

With a furious growl, Robin broke his staff in two over the plated skull of one of the robots, kicking out at the chest of another that was approaching from behind. He allowed his momentum to carry him around in a full circle, his fist plunging through the thin chest plating of yet another foe that came at him from the side. Turning on his heel, he lunged at another drone – and stumbled, his blow whistling harmlessly through empty air, throwing him off-balance.

Regaining his feet quickly, he brandished the broken halves of his staff, his masked eyes flickering through the fire-lit night, meeting nothing but the dark expanses of the sea beyond the cliff edge – and the still form of Brother Blood standing calmly on the top of his impossible ship. The ranks of HIVE drones stood massed behind him, none moving, all standing perfectly still, their faces turned towards their master as though awaiting some silent command. Daring to look around, Robin saw Beast Boy and Cyborg in similar positions, standing bewilderedly in a wide strip of clear space along the cliff's edge that separated Brother Blood from his mechanized army.

"Hello, Titans," the villain said calmly, lifting one electronic hand. All three heroes tensed at the sudden movement, which only made Brother Blood smile as he beckoned one of his robots forward. The drone obeyed, taking a step towards its master and depositing a clearly unconscious Starfire on the ground at his feet.

"I thought you might like your friend returned to you," Brother Blood continued amiably. "And yet, it seems that one Titan is still missing. Lying in wait for me, perhaps? Ready to spring some kind of trap?"

Cyborg and Beast Boy looked around, realizing that it was true – that Raven was indeed missing. They glanced over at Robin, silently asking him what had become of her, but not daring to speak, in case there truly was some kind of trap laying in wait that they did not know about. Robin answered with a minimal shake of his head, while shame began to burn deep within him. Shame at his own fear, his own cowardice – he had been afraid to face his own teammate, and now he would pay for it with his lives and lives of his friends, lives that could have been spared if Raven had been there to help. What would she do, upon waking to an empty tower and discovering that all of her friends had been killed because of his stupidity?

He felt the heat of his guilt rise to his face, and he was sure that his cheeks were flushed – hopefully his friends would think it was the heat of battle that made his face seem to shimmer with a red rage. "Why are you here?" he snapped sharply, every muscles in his body tense, his heart once more painfully constricted, his eyes burning as though with tears. "What do you want?"

Brother Blood seemed slightly surprised by the question, though his slight, friendly grin never wavered. "What do I want?" he repeated, raising one eyebrow as though shocked at Robin's ignorance. "Why, I want what every villain wants – revenge. I trust you are familiar with the concept?"

The hem of his long robes billowed gracefully as he stepped from the hull of his ship onto the jagged edge of the cliff, the sightless eyes of the HIVE drones following his every movement. His silver-clawed hands behind his back, he paced towards Robin, looking disdainfully down at the young hero, the red plating of his electronic arms making it look as though his skin had been bathed in blood.

Robin leaped at the villain as he walked past, the broken halves of his staff whirling in both hands, twin silver blurs as they flew towards the blood-red plate that covered most of Brother Blood's head. His expression never wavering for an instant, the villain whipped one hand around, forming a strange symbol with the tapering silver fingers – Robin's charge was halted as he slammed into a solid barrier of bloody radiance that his enemy had conjured seemingly out of the air. He stumbled back, dazed, the fragments of his shattered weapon slipping from his grasp as Brother Blood watched, chuckling slightly. Without another glance for his fallen foe, the villain continued past Beast Boy, who did not try to attack, but crouched in the form of a tiger, snarling, eyes bright in the light of dozens of fires. Brother Blood didn't even glance at the menacing animal; instead, he continued sedately past until he stood impassively, nearly eye-to-eye with Cyborg.

There was moment of ringing silence as bionic eye met glaring bionic eye, the red gazes clashing and warring in a battle that rang with a thousand shouts and screeches just below the edge of hearing. His eye never leaving his foe's face, Cyborg raised his sonic cannon, pointing it straight at Brother Blood's chest, the gleaming blue light from the charging cannon mouth falling on the villain's elaborate robes. It was a point-blank shot. Impossible to miss.

Cyborg fired.

The blast of blue energy exploded from what had once been his arm, tearing straight for the villain – and was deflected, flying off at angle into the dark night with a shriek of tortured air, leaving not so much as a streak of soot on Brother Blood's robes.

Then, with the eyes of both Robin and Beast Boy fixed to the sudden movement, the villain raised one cybernetic hand, placing two of the silver fingers on the rim of Cyborg's sonic cannon, pushing the weapon down until it was pointed harmlessly at rock and earth. "You own me two headquarters and quite a few students," he hissed, human eye narrowed in hatred, robotic one still wide and glaring. "Now it is time to settle the score."

Suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, Brother Blood stepped back, away from the three heroes, moving quickly towards the ship that still hovered faithfully over the roaring sea. Stepping back onto the hull, he raised a metallic hand as if in farewell as the craft began to move with a deafening roar, spiraling up and away, until it was fair distance from the earthbound Titans.

The crouching green tiger turned into a hulking pterodactyl and took to the skies – clawing at the air, startled, as an explosion rang out far below and behind the heroes. Turning on his heel, Robin watched, bewildered, as a single drone in the very back of the mechanical hoard died in a burst of searing flame.

"Goodbye, Titans!" Brother Blood called from his exalted height. "I would say it has been a pleasure, but –" he paused as another drone combusted with a wail of dying machinery, "I am not fond of lying. We shall not meet again."

As yet another robot dissolved in a bloom of fire, Robin realized, too late, what was happening. He started to scramble towards the cliffs, hoping to jump – only to find himself facing a wall of expressionless metal masks. The HIVE drones had surrounded the heroes – but they made no move to attack, only standing and staring with their soulless eyes as more and more of their number continued to explode, a row of fiery roses that bloomed and faded and died to ashes all within a single instant. And the blasts grew closer and closer to the trapped Titans as more and more the metal shells were set alight – Beast Boy, still in the form of a pterodactyl, swooped down and grasped the unconscious Starfire, carrying her away beyond the ring of fire and setting her down before returning – but he would not have enough time to save both Robin and Cyborg, as the bursts of fire grew closer and closer, so that the Titans' faces were burned red by the heat. The cracking apart of metal casing and the scream of sundered wires began to fuse together, melting into one long, drawn-out, unearthly shriek, the feeding whine of the fire as it leaped from drone to drone, surrounding the heroes, light blazing in all directions, blotting out the shadows of the night.

Robin gasped and choked, each breath burning his lungs as he gulped down the superheated air, his gloved hands groping blindly in front of him for some escape, grasping at any last chance of hope. There was none – he looked up, past the oily smoke that sprang form the fire, wide eyes trying to pick out Beast Boy's circling form, but his vision was obscured by the radiance of the flames and the sunspots that danced before his eyes.

Cyborg was firing water out of a small cannon on his arm, but it was a desperate measure, and he knew it. The fire drew closer about them, and Robin shut his masked eyes tightly, trying to protect them from the sparks and embers that fountained up into the night sky – he could feel the greasy smoke being drawn into his lungs as he gasped desperately, and the heat and lack of air combined into one sharp dagger in his chest, twisting as a heavy pain pounded against his skull, and the world around him spun in sickening whorls of burning light and darkness. He could hear Cyborg's voice, shouting, but the gruff bass rumbling sounded like a drum beating in the depths of his brain, making his vision shake and waver with its vibration, until he could no longer hear it because of the dull roar of pain inside his head. There was a dark veil falling over the burning fires all around him, and everything around him was fading, fading – he coughed and choked, the air in his lungs burning and smoke-filled, devoid of oxygen – he could feel his heart beating frantically in his chest, everything spinning, spinning, fading, falling…….

Cyborg's shouts ringing loudly in his ears, Robin swayed, wreathed by smoke and fire, and fell silently to the ground.

00000000000000000000000000000

There was darkness.

Darkness…………..

"Robin!"

Someone calling him. Someone…….

"Robin, come on, wake up!"

It was a familiar voice. One he knew, one he knew well…….. harsh, sharp tones….. but it had not always been that way………

"Damn you, Robin, come back!"

Someone shouting at him. The voice more hoarse than usual……. as though the breath was catching in someone's throat, coming out in ragged sobs.

"Damn you, Robin, if you don't wake up, I'll – I'll – I'll kill you!"

Someone……..crying? No, don't cry……… I'm all right………

"I'm all right." The words came out hoarse, soft, but audible. Just the act of speaking burned his throat, and he coughed, feeling searing pain in his lungs as he gulped down the cool, clean night air. He remembered fire, burning, drowning in smoke, and now darkness………

Above him he could hear the harsh, ragged breathing of someone trying not to burst into tears…… he blinked, opening his eyes as he felt a single drop of something warm fall on his face. Several blurry faces surrounded him, all peering down at him, spinning in dizzying circles, then blurring together, their outlines solidifying until there was only one.

"Hello, Raven," he said hoarsely, finding himself staring into the delicately featured moon-pale face, the endless shifting depths of those violet eyes, the ebony blue locks hanging down, in sharp contrast to her pale skin. He felt his mouth turn up in a slight smile, a foreign expression that felt strangely alien on his face. "What's new?"

The simple words set off another coughing fit, and he tried to sit up – a notion that was quickly discouraged as the image of Raven's face began to blur and waver again. He felt a small hand on his chest, pushing him down and holding him still with surprising force.

"Don't talk." Raven's voice was the usual deadpan monotone, but he could hear something, some hidden passion or suppressed emotion beneath the words. "You breathed in way too much smoke back there, and your lungs and throat are damaged. It'll take me a minute to heal you, so I suggest you shut up for once in your life."

For once he found himself doing as he was told, closing his eyes, Raven's harsh, biting words piercing his skin like daggers that stayed firmly imbedded in his skin despite the blue healing magic that now flowed from her white hands. He felt a wave of soothing cold sweep over his chest and throat, and he took a deep breath, experimentally. When there was no pain, he tried hesitantly to sit up, supporting himself on his elbows.

Much of his former strength had returned with that brief moment of healing, and he was able to lift himself to his knees. He paused there, looking over at Raven, who kneeled beside him, her cloak falling in rippling folds about her, hiding her – all but her face, where he saw a brief moment of some emotion flash across her features – relief? Vulnerability? Fear?

The moment passed, and he pushed himself the rest of the way to his feet, standing and surveying his surroundings. He was still on the cliff beside the roaring sea; the ship that Brother Blood had built was gone, as was the villain himself, but the remains of his invasion were strewn all around, the metal carcasses of his drones burned and blackened, along with bits of metal shrapnel and debris that still sparked angrily, hissing to themselves in the cold night. Some distance away, standing watching him with faces that remained hidden in shadow, stood Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire – and though he could not see their eyes, he could feel their sharp glares, the roar of accusation in their stony silence.

"Are you okay?" Raven's toneless voice spoke from behind him, jolting him back to reality with its frigid cold. He turned to reply, only to find that she had pulled her hood up, casting her face in shadow –all but for her endless eyes. "You took the longest to wake up, and you were the one with the worst burns. Are you still hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," he replied absently, rubbing at the edges of his mask – which, he was relieved to see, hadn't burned away.

"Good." There was a moment of silence, and he opened his mouth to say something to Raven – but before he could, she spoke again, her voice full of venom, and something close to hate.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she hissed, white hands clenched into fists in the shadows of her cloak. She did not shout, but she did not need to; even with her hood hiding her face, she somehow managed to convey all of her anger, all of her accusing contempt in a single glance. And there was something more there, too – something that looked suspiciously like fear. "Were you trying to get yourself killed? How could you do that to me? Just leave me there and let my friends plunge headfirst into danger? Did you think I wouldn't care? Did you think I wouldn't mind being left behind while you all got your skin roasted off?"

"Raven, I –"

"Your fear and anger woke me up from miles away, so I fly to find you and what do I find? Cyborg barely conscious, Starfire knocked out, Beast Boy in a panic, and you almost dead! You wouldn't be alive if I hadn't gotten here, Robin! Do you think I want you to die? Do you think that if you had been killed I would have just been able to move on with my life, knowing that I could have done something to stop it?"

Her hands were moving restlessly, almost as though she longed to wrap them about his throat, and though her voice was full of anger, growing louder and rising with every word, her eyes gleamed far too brightly – it looked almost as though she was holding back tears.

"Raven, I – I never meant for this –"

"I don't care what you meant!" she was shouting now, tendrils of black magic rippling out from her body, tossing sharp-edged plates of metal over the cliff to crash into the water below. "Why didn't you wake me up? Did you think I wouldn't be able to handle it? I'm not stupid, Robin, and I'm not weak!"

"No," he said quickly, holding up his hands to forestall her vicious words. "No, you're not, I know you're not! It was my fault, I –"

"Damn right, it's your fault! Why did you do that, Robin? Why?" Staring at the shadow that hid her face, he saw the splinter of light that was a single tear, gleaming in the soft glow of the stars.

"Because I was scared," he said softly, feeling his own hands clench into fists as the words burst from him, fighting their way free of his lips. He did not want to tell her, did not want to say it out loud, because saying it out loud was an admission that he had indeed given into fear – but the alternative was lying to Raven, and that was something he simply could not do.

"You were scared!" She glared at him with a measure of anger he had never seen from her before, anger that seemed to radiate off of her, in waves of heat that pulled the skin on his face tight and dry. "You were scared! How do you think I felt when I found you, laying on the ground, surrounded by fire, barely breathing? I thought you were dead, Robin. For a minute I truly thought you were dead." The anger had not diminished, nor had her voice lost any of its passion, but he could see tears streaming down her face now, feel the cold touch of dark magic washing over him, though it did not harm him. Even confronted by an incredibly angry Raven, her hands twitching as though they longed to tear him apart, he felt no fear.

At least, he felt no fear for himself.

"Raven," he said hesitantly, taking a step towards her, hands outstretched desperately, pleadingly, "Raven, please, stop –"

"No!" she screeched, hands clenched into fists, eyes blazing even as her tears continued to fall. "No, I won't stop! Just because – because of what happened –" she paused, and Robin could see her visibly trembling, her shoulders shaking with tearing sobs. "Just because of what happened, that doesn't mean that I need you to save me all the time! It doesn't mean that I can't look after myself! And you going and trying to sacrifice yourself because of some stupid childish fear –" her voice had reached a feverish pitch, and she was nearly screaming at him, four flickering red eyes blazing through the tears that he could still see under her hood – he could almost feel the heat that flowed from her as her anger fought for control, and won –

She opened her mouth to continue her tirade, but her words were drowned out by a fit of painful coughing that drove her to her knees, the red demon eyes fleeing, changing back into the endless violet, stricken with pain and confusion. Coughs wracking her thin frame, Raven fell to the ground, one hand clutching her chest, the other against her mouth as she doubled over in pain.

Robin stood frozen for a moment, shocked – then he was at her side, kneeling on the ground, one hand hovering just above her shoulder as he waited for the coughing fit to subside.

"Robin –" she said hoarsely, between coughs, her entire body shaking fitfully, all anger gone. "Robin –"

"I'm here," he said quickly, breathlessly, searching her shadowed face for any kind of sign, any hint of what was wrong. There was a whine of panic wailing on the inside of his skull and he couldn't think straight, couldn't see, couldn't breathe –

"What's wrong with her?"

Cyborg's deep voice jolted him out of his shock, though his thoughts were still drowned out by panic. "I don't know, I don't know, she was shouting, and then she just collapsed! What's wrong with her, Cyborg, what's going on?" he was babbling, frantically, unable to form any kind of coherent thought. Cyborg ignored him, kneeling beside Raven's trembling form, the scanner on his arm emitting steady beeps as her coughing slowed, then finally stopped, dying away into the harsh sounds of ragged breathing.

"She's torn open an old wound," the half-robot said grimly, his eyes never leaving the opened panel in the machinery that covered his arm. "A half-healed broken rib. It shifted on the split, and nicked the lung. We've got to get her home."

"I'm……..fine……" Raven said hoarsely, still shaking, her hand falling from her mouth and clenching into a fist – but not before Robin caught a glimpse of blood smeared on her palm.

"Like hell you're fine," Cyborg said grimly, picking Raven up as though she weighed nothing, despite her harsh protests. "We're going home."

He walked away, leaving Robin behind without a backward glance, towards the huddled forms of Beast Boy and Starfire. Staring after his departing form, Robin stood thunderstruck in the midst of a storm of steel, the shrapnel still glowing with the unearthly light of black magic, his eyes staring sightlessly into the darkness before him.

I'm sorry, Raven.

His lips moved softly, but no sound emerged, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

It's all my fault. My fault you got angry, my fault you're hurt. Always my fault. I'm sorry, Raven, so, so, sorry………

He forced his feet to move, slowly, his eyes closed as he walked woodenly away through the darkness. And though he tried as hard as he could to keep his mind focused on the world around him, he could not keep himself from imagining his hands beneath his gloves slick with red-black blood, and the green gauntlets torn by hideous yellowed claws.

00000000000000000000000000000

So there you have it…… I have to go back to school tomorrow, so I might not update for a while. Dusty, I estimate two more chapters until the big surprise; just hold on until then…….

Hey, everyone! Would you like to be the proud owner of lots of digital cookies? Well, today is your day! All you have to do is click that little blue button down there…… come on, I'm desperate! Where have all my reviewers gone?