Four friends sat on the floor in Kim's living room; their mouths open from excitement, and terror. Their eyes were glued to the screen, their fists clenched in anticipation.

Earlier, an over-excited girl called Kim had invited her two friends over for the three-day weekend. Kim lived up in the mountain area, and her friends, Elizabeth and Stephanie, were from the city. "The Desert", to be exact. So they were thrilled to be spending two nights on the countryside.

The fourth friend was Kim's brother, Chris, who was actually a very nice brother. He liked to hang out with his sister's friends, though they were teenage girls.

A night came and a night went. The girls watched many episodes of the Teen Titans throughout the night. Two were literally obsessed with the series. Though Chris did not "hang out" with them the first night, he took them up on their invitation the second night. Now they were all watching their favorite characters.

Robin is the only human on the team. Formerly trained with Batman, Robin makes up for not having superpowers with all his gadgets in his belt. Robin is mostly very serious and determined when it comes to catching the bad guy.

Starfire doesn't come from earth at all, but is an alien from the planet Tamaran in another star system. She is very kind and polite, and always asking questions about our customs here on earth. She can fly, has great strength, and can shoot green energy bolts from her fingertips and eyes.

Cyborg is a half man, half machine being. He never talks about the accident that caused him to become half robot, but he can still have fun. His arm can turn into a sonic cannon when fighting criminals, and he also has great strength like Starfire.

"Um, this isn't the way I remember it," Chris said. "Is it?" He looked at the screen. Though he didn't know what episode they were watching, none of them were like this. The three girls shook their heads. Slade's face filled up the screen. In his hand was a diamond, and from inside it came a light. Stephanie went up to the screen and touched the it with curiosity. Suddenly, her hand began to sink inside the T.V. She pulled, but she couldn't get her hand to come out, it just kept going.

"Guys, a little help here!" She struggled in a panic to get her hand out. The other three took her other hand and pulled as hard as they could, but the portal sucked faster at everything in the room, and soon they were all in.

They fell, faster and faster and faster, then hit the floor.

"Where are we?"

"And what happened?"

They all looked around. They were on the floor of a dark room, and there was a beeping.

"Someone turn on a light in here," Chris said. Chris got up, and then froze. "Wow," he whispered. Across the room was a teenage boy in a tattered costume strapped to a bed. He was struggling against the straps that bound him. He looked back at the older girls. "We're in the T.V. And we're in the episode 'Haunted'."

They looked at Robin as he suddenly looked up and gasped. His gaze swept the room, as if watching an unseen figure walking toward him. He struggled harder.

"Quick, turn on the lights," Elizabeth said. Chris ran and flipped on the switch. The lights flickered on, and Robin stopped his thrashing. He looked at the group, breathing hard. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to catch his breath.

Robin looked at them again. "Where'd he go?" He looked around the room. Elizabeth was silent. Nobody said anything. Chris looked at everybody like they were crazy. He went straight to Robin without any hesitation and started undoing the straps that held him in place.

As soon as one of his hands was free, Robin helped Chris with the tighter buckles. He muttered his thanks and got up. He pulled the wires from his head and walked over to the group of girls. Chris ran ahead of him.

"Who are you? And how'd you get in the tower?" He gave them a suspicious look.

"We didn't break in, but well it's kind of hard to explain." Stephanie searched for words.

"I'm listening." Robin folded his arms and stood. Kim broke in.

"I don't know exactly how to say this, but we are from another universe. Not like Larry, but to us in our world, you guys are fictional, a T.V. show. We watch it all the time. We're obsessed with the show. That's how we knew that when the lights are on, you don't see Slade anymore."

Robin's eyes widened under his mask. How did they know all this? How did they know about Larry? How did they know about him seeing Slade? Had they seen him?

He took a step towards them. "Did, you guys see Slade?"

"No." They all answered in unison.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Then how did you guys know?"

Kim sighed. "Chris, did you see the video come in along with us?" Chris shrugged. Kim turned to Robin. "Look for a purple video case. It has Teen Titans on the front." Robin opened his mouth. "Don't ask."

They searched the room, and Elizabeth finally found it. "You got a VCR?" Robin didn't have time to answer, because the rest of the Titans burst through the door. Starfire skidded to a stop. She gave a gasp.

"Who are these strangers? And what are they doing in here!"

Kim walked over to Starfire. "Wow. Starfire?"

"Yes?"

"Wow."

"Please, what are you doing in our house?" The alien girl watched as Kim just stared. Cyborg walked over.

"Yoo-hoo?"

Stephanie cleared her throat. "I'll explain. We're from an alternate universe, and we somehow fell into yours. We turned on the T.V., and there Slade was. He sucked us in, and well, here we are."

Everyone just gaped.

"ACHOOOOO!" Beastboy morphed back into a human from a lizard to a human. "Bless me," he said in an odd voice.

The Titans sat on the couch, watching the screen in front of them. They watched themselves on the screen, on the episode, doing exactly what had just happened. But it continued differently than when the girls and Chris had dropped in.

"What did you say this was called again?" Robin asked as he watched himself fight Slade.

"'Haunted'." Elizabeth answered. "How are we going to get back?" She wondered out loud. "We can't just walk up to Slade and ask him for the diamond so he can take us back!"

"I don't want to go back. I like it here, a lot more than home at least." Stephanie sighed.

"Being in Titans Tower is a plus for being sucked into the T.V. in the middle of the night."

"Speaking of night, they said that I can only see Slade when it's dark." Robin looked at Cyborg without finishing the taped episode. "Can you do a test or something to figure out what's going on?"

"I already know." Everyone looked at Elizabeth. She started to talk in a funny voice. "'There was a chemical reagent in Slade's mask that made you see, hear, and feel Slade even though he wasn't there.'" The girls and Chris started laughing. "Never mind," Elizabeth said. "Run the test. Can we stay in Terra's room tonight?"

"Uh, sure." Raven started walking. She probably expected them to follow her.

"Raven, we already know where it is. But thanks anyway!" Stephanie walked ahead of her and down the hall. Kim, Elizabeth, and Chris followed her.

"I can't believe this!" Chris was very excited about the whole thing. "We're in the Titans tower and Stephanie has powers. This is too cool!"

"Don's get too excited Chris," Kim told her brother. "It may be a while before we get out of here."

Chris strutted around the room. "I'm completely fine with that." Suddenly, his face looked like he had been hit with a brilliant idea. "And I bet Beastboy has the most cool video games in the entire world!" Before they could stop him, he ran out the door and down the hall.

"Hey, Beastboy!" Chris panted as he skid into the main room in the Tower. Robin had put on a new costume, and had a pack of ice resting on his leg. He, Starfire and Raven were talking, Cyborg was eating pizza, and Beastboy sat on the couch, doing what he did best. Video games.

Chris was unnoticed by everyone. He didn't care. He jogged over to the couch and flopped next to Beastboy. Beastboy jumped in surprise.

"Where'd you come from? You scared me man!" He paused the game.

"Sorry." Chris looked at the screen.

"How old are you anyway?"

"Eleven." Chris still concentrated on the screen. Beastboy followed his gaze. Beastboy got up.

"And I guess you want to play game station with me?"

"Can I? Cool!" Chris grabbed a controller and flopped on the couch. He glanced at Beastboy with narrowed eyes and a smile on his face. "I have to warn you though, I'm really good at racing."

Beastboy snorted. "How hard could it be? You're only eleven." He sneezed again. This time, he was a duck. "Uuuhhh. I hate being sick."

Chris just grinned.

"Well, we have four more people in our house, and we don't even know where they came from."

"Yes, but they did try to explain to us where they had come from."

"But we don't know that for sure. For all we know, they could be spies just trying to sneak in. I don't trust them very much."

The three watched as Beastboy's jaw hit the floor as Chris finished his fourth victory. Cyborg just watched them, enjoying watching Beastboy loose to a "little kid".

"For now, we have to. How else could the girls know about everything that's happened? How else could they have tapes of us doing stuff that we didn't? What if what they're saying is all true?" Robin shook his head. "It's hard for me to believe too, but so far, it makes sense. I say we let them stay at least until we find out what's going on."

Starfire nodded in agreement. She loved meeting new people anyway. Raven sighed, then slowly nodded as well. She, on the other hand, didn't like new people at all.

Elizabeth sat in Terra's room. Everyone was excited to be here, but they were all a little nervous. They were all wondering if they would ever get home. Chris was the least scared. He was having the time of his life with a role model he thought he would never get to meet.

Cyborg's head popped in. "Hey, if y'all want something to eat, you'd better come out here soon." The three got up and followed him to the kitchen.

"Dude, I can't believe you beat me!" Beastboy was truly upset at the fact that a "little kid" had been better than him. But on the other hand, he had yet another person to try to match his skills against.

"I don't want to brag, but I did warn you I was good at racing." Chris stuffed another piece of pizza in his mouth.

"Good? Good! You're not good! You have a GIFT!" Beastboy said. "ACHOOOO!"

Chris laughed. He was really enjoying this.

The three girls soon joined them. They ate in silence. They cleared their plates, then sat back down in silence. Kim looked at the Titans. "As much as I like it here, we have to find a way to get back." Kim shook her head. "We're not like you guys that don't have any parents or worries. We have parents back home, siblings, pets, so much stuff we could never leave behind if we just wanted to."

Robin nodded thoughtfully. "We could track down Slade and demand for him to give back the jewel. We'll figure out how to work it, then you guys will be back home."

"There's only one thing wrong Robin. Slade is dead. You keep forgetting that," Raven said.

"Then, who might be doing this horrible thing? If it cannot be Slade, then who? It could not be Terra either."

"Are you sure you saw Slade on the screen?" Robin was doubtful.

"It was him. Who else would have a creepy mask with one eye on it?" Stephanie looked at them. "Unless someone was trying to…"

"Act like him?" Robin smiled dryly. "Only Slade acts like Slade." Suddenly, Robin's communicator went off. "Titans, trouble!" He got up quickly, but stumbled and fell. He got up again, but was stopped.

"Man, maybe you should stay here. Eat some pizza or something. You don't need to come. We got it." Cyborg steered Robin back to the counter and forced him down. The rest of the team ran out and left. Robin didn't try to follow. He slammed his head on the counter.

"I'm so stupid."

"Whatever your blaming yourself for, don't." Elizabeth told him. "I don't understand why you have to go on every single mission that they do."

"How could I get so obsessed with Slade?"

"I don't know. Why are you? It drives me nuts just watching you."

"I always have been, but why do I have to think he's still alive?" He slammed his head against the counter again. "I'm so stupid. Why can't I just be like the rest of the team? Normal?"

"You sure are normal compared to us four." Kim giggled and made a face. After watching a very confused Robin stare at her, she stopped. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. Well, if you're here, we can continue to do our research on Slade."

Robin got up and went to the computer. He typed continuously. "Well," he said. "In Slade's last battle with us, we used my communicator's scanner to lock onto the location of where Beastboy, Terra, and Slade were. We have to recall all that information to see if anything unusual comes up." Robin typed furiously, trying to dig up the information.

But Stephanie already had thought of something. "Robin, do you think it's possible that Raven's father can resurrect people from the dead?" She continued. "'Cause on T.V., they previewed that that sort of thing would happen."

Robin growled. He slammed his fists on the keyboard. Everyone winced. "We have to find out where he is, track him down, bring him down." He whipped out his communicator and contacted his team.

Cyborg blasted him with his sonic cannon. Raven threw a bus at his head. Starfire flew at him, starbolts flying from her fingers. Beastboy altered into a T-Rex and slammed him into a building. Nothing was working. With Plasmus, Overload, and Cinderblock joined, they were almost undefeatable.

Cyborg ran for cover from a gigantic hand sweeping toward him. He flew into the air once again, his sonic cannon blasting the monster with all its force. The monster fell. Raven took the same bus and pressed it against the monster, keeping it at bay while Starfire blasted it for all she was worth. Beastboy watched. It was all he could do for the moment. The monster struggled. Sweating, Cyborg blasted again and again. He stopped long enough to pull out his communicator and call Robin.

"Robin! Big and Ugly times three is back! We're having a bit of trouble over here!" Cyborg looked up. "Hold on!" He blasted the creature. "Okay. I'm back."

"We've got bigger things to worry about now." Robin gave him a hard look. "Slade's alive. For sure, for real. I'm positive."

"What! What are you talking about! Slade's not-"

"Not what?" The voice was all too familiar to their ears.

"Cyborg? Cyborg are you there?" Robin turned the communicator off and on again. "Cyborg? Cyborg?" He turned it off and sighed. "It's useless. I can't reach him. The signal's blocked."

He got up. "We have to find them. They might be in trouble. I can't reach any of the others for the same reason. That can't be good." He walked out. The others followed.

The five of them searched the city, but they found no trace of the missing Titans. Robin contacted Batman in Gothom City, and the Titans East in Steel City and asked them to search. They too found nothing.

Luckily, Cyborg's communicator built into his arm allowed them to locate him anywhere he went. They tracked it. The computer beeped an error signal. Robin sighed and rested his head on his hand. "Well, that's all we can do. I hate to give up, but no one can find them."

"They could be in our dimension," Elizabeth commented. That's the only thing I can think of that we haven't tried yet."

"I believe you, but how do we get there? It's not like we can snap our fingers and we're there." He snapped his fingers, just to show them. As if following his wishes, a portal appeared, sustained by a diamond that projected a yellow light. Slowly, it started to suck everything in. They struggled to hold on to the desk, but even it was getting pulled. Chris lost his grip and fell into the portal. Kim let go and followed him in. Stephanie tried to hold on, but was sucked in as well. Elizabeth grabbed her hand, but fell in. Robin reluctantly let go. He had to follow.

Everything was black for a moment. Then Robin was thrown forward, hard. So hard it nearly sucked the breath right out of him. He was thrown through a black square and was suddenly on the floor, looking up. His vision was hazy. He coughed. He was out of breath. He rolled over and sat up, coughing. He felt a slight pounding on his back.

"Breathe! Breathe!" Stephanie was slapping his back. "And be quiet! You're going to wake everybody up! If Kim's mom comes down here and finds a colorful boy in the room with us, she'll think bad thoughts." Robin coughed a final time and looked around. It was really dark. Almost thick darkness. He couldn't see anything but the full moon outside.

He looked at a silhouetted figure he could only assume was Chris. He walked quietly from around the corner. "They're still asleep," Chris whispered. "It's like time stopped while we were away."

"If you check for Cyborg now, I'll bet you'll find him." Elizabeth came out from the shadows. "But we should go somewhere where we won't be heard." She looked at him. "Are you used to cold?"

"That depends. How cold are we talking about?"

"About fifteen degrees. Kim lives in the mountains, it's winter, and it's night. That's triple the cold to what it usually is."

"I can handle that. No problem."

They walked outside. Robin gasped. The light from the moon lit up the entire property, which was huge. It looked like dawn; only it was two in the morning. The property was five acres, he guessed. And everything was real looking, too real looking than he was used to. And there were horses in the back. Two that he could make out, but judging by the size of the corrals, he thought there must be more. He suddenly shivered. It was cold.

"If you're done staring, we could go to the hay shed. It's warm in there, and it's far away from the house." Kim started down the porch's steps and across the field. Chris ran out ahead. They were both wearing short sleeves, and showed no signs of being cold. It was clear that they were used to it.

Robin and the two other girls ran after them. Kim opened the doors of the shed and walked in. She turned on a small bulb above them. She closed the doors. She sat on a bale of hay. "Go ahead, run your test."

Robin pulled out his communicator and turned it on. Cyborg! He had found him. "He's twelve miles west." He looked at the faces. "Where's that?"

Kim and Chris answered in unison. "Idyllwild." Kim looked worried. "But we can't go there tonight! We can't! It's a twenty minute drive, and I don't think our parents would be happy to discover our car missing in the morning."

"We can take the horses!" Stephanie was very happy. "They can run fast can't they?" She looked around at the annoyed faces. "Right?"

Robin looked grave. "This is no time to fool around," he said. "My friends are in danger. We need to find them. I have a feeling Slade's involved."

Stephanie smirked. "Ya think?"

Robin glared at them all. "Focus. Please. I don't like this whole situation anymore than you do. But we've got to stick with it." He thought. "How can we get to Idyllwild fast?"

"It takes twenty minutes by car. We can't do anything tonight Robin. Just accept it." Kim still looked worried.

"We all have to sleep anyway. We're going to need it." Elizabeth turned to go back to the house. It started to sprinkle, and a crack in the roof let water in. Robin sighed. Would they get through this? Slade was hard to find, much less to trick.

Though Robin tried to hurry, but his costume was soon soaked. It started to pour. He shivered. He didn't like this. It was raining, which he usually didn't mind. But the fact that it was fifteen degrees and he was already cold and now wet made it worse. The girls were waiting by the door.

Kim ran up the stairs, grabbed a handful of towels, and raced back down stairs. She handed them out, then dried herself off. She ran up the stairs again. Chris started a fire, and Elizabeth and Stephanie got something to eat from the pantry. They came back with a nauseating amount of potato chips.

Kim returned with fresh clothes on. They all sat by the fire and talked about their plan. The next morning, they would ask Kim's mom for a ride to Idyllwild to go shopping in the small town. But they didn't know how they were going to get Robin there. They decided to wait and think about it. Unfortunately, the girls fell asleep. Robin stayed awake for a while, going over everything in his head. But he soon fell asleep too.

He awoke to a door opening, ever so quietly, and then closing again. He sleepily lifted his head. Somebody had gone outside. He looked out the window. Kim and Chris sat across from one another under the roof, talking. He opened the door and joined them.

"What are you two doing?"

"Trying to figure out what we're going to do about tomorrow." Kim glanced at him, still in thought.

"Can I join you?"

"Sure." Chris said.

Robin sat. He looked the large book on the table. "Been reading? What is it?"

Chris looked at him like he was crazy. "Can't you read? That's the Bible!"

Robin looked confused. "What's a Bible? I've never heard of it before."

Kim looked at him. "You've never heard of the Bible?" She picked it up. "This is the most common book in the U.S.! Not a lot of people read it, but almost everyone has heard of it."

"Not me." Robin took it from her, skipping through the pages. "Sure is long. What's it about?"

"We'll tell you!" Chris was excited. "This will be fun!"

It stopped raining, and the sun came out. It was dawn. Stephanie, Elizabeth, and Chris awoke yawning. They got up. Stephanie yawned a final time, and then went to the deck, which she loved to stand on top of on a sunny morning.

She sleepily opened the back door, and looked out. She walked over to Robin, who was leaning on the railing. He stared aimlessly out to the mountains surrounding Kim's house.

She looked around. "Where's Kim?" He nodded his head toward the house.

"She went in already," came the reply.

"How long have you guys been up?"

"I've been up since 1:30. She went in at about 3:00. Chris left only a couple hours ago."

"Wow. What have you been doing?"

"Just…thinking."

"That's a long time to think."

"Yeah. I've been thinking about what Kim told me last night. She talked to me about God." He looked at Stephanie. "I've never felt this way before."

"Yeah, God will do that to you. He takes your mind, forms it around Him, and when He unwraps, you're left with a mysterious wonder. You don't know quite what to make with it." She daydreamed. "It's wonderful, isn't it?"

"And confusing." Robin shook his head. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to try to figure out."

Stephanie chuckled. "Get used to it. That's part of what makes God great. He leaves you wondering."

Elizabeth burst through the door, waking Kim abruptly. "Beastboy's here," she said breathlessly.

Beastboy was sitting on a chair at the granite counter, his elbows on the table. He smiled as Robin walked in. "Hey Robin."

Robin looked at him. "Where are the others?"

"They're still trapped. No one could get out than me. I don't know what that metal was made of, but it's strong. The only way I got out was because I got small enough to slip through the bar, bar…ACHOOO!" He sniffed. "Great," he said in his stuffed up voice. "Just when I got over my cold, I get another one."

Robin's usual determination mask covered his face. "We have to stop them. We have to get to that city, now." He looked at Kim. "Do you think your mom would drive two people she'd never met to Idyllwild?"

Kim shook her head. "I honestly don't think so."

Elizabeth's face brightened. "I know! Since Beastboy can fly, he can fly Robin to Idyllwild. Meanwhile, Kim's mom can drive the rest of us. How's that?"

Robin smiled. "Perfect. Let's go."

"Mom?" She whispered. Her mother moaned in her sleep. "Mom?"

"What?"

"Can you drive me, the girls and Chris to Idyllwild? They want to see the new shopping plaza up there."

"Right now?" Her mother turned over, her half-opened eyes studying her.

"If it's okay."

Her mother groaned again. "Oh, all right. Go away then. I have to get dressed. Do you guys want any breakfast?"

"No, that's okay. They want to get there as soon as possible."

Her mother shooshed her out. Kim ran downstairs and told the others. "Good," Robin said. "How long will it take for her to get ready?"

"Oh, only a couple minutes, so you guys should go now. Wait…on the roof or something."

"Kimberly?" A sleepy voice drifted through the hallway. "Who is that you are talking to?"

"Only a couple minutes!" Robin hissed at her running out the door.

"What was that honey?" Kim's mom turned the corner.

"Nothing Mom, I just, ah…let Kita outside." Kim smiled innocently.

"Oh, well, next time feed the dog when you let her out, okay?"

"Okay Mom. I promise I won't forget next time."

They drove to Idyllwild. Kim just hoped that Beastboy didn't sneeze at any time during the drive; otherwise he would crash right into the roof of the car. Boy would that be fun to explain.

They finally arrived. Kim wasn't surprised when she didn't see Robin or Beastboy anywhere. They had agreed that right before they came into town, that they would hide somewhere. They would meet them there once they got dropped off.

The girls and Chris hurried toward the outside of town. If they had to go through town, Beastboy would pose as a dog, which wouldn't attract too much attention, except for the fact that he was green. But it wouldn't be too unusual, she had told them. There was another girl in Idyllwild that had dyed her dog hot pink.

"So do your little locator thing on your communicator so we can find them and get this over with." Elizabeth didn't like this whole thing. She, like the other two girls, was nervous. Chris, on the other hand, was very excited. He and Beastboy talked and talked about everything that was going to happen.

Robin smiled. "Gotcha." He had pressed a single button on his communicator, and it had immediately located onto the exact location of the missing Titans. "It says that they're one mile northwest, half a mile underground."

"I have a question," Stephanie said. "Why are Slade's hideouts always underground?"

Robin smirked, but didn't answer. He seemed in a really good mood. Kim didn't know why. In the cartoons, Robin was always serious and determined when he got closer to Slade. Today, he seemed almost too happy, for him.

"According to the map my communicator provided me, there should be a passage right below us. There's a water passageway…we should be able to find a hidden door…" his voice trailed off. He walked into the underbrush, searching the ground. His face lit up when his fingers slid under a flap, hidden and well disguised by the pine needles and twigs.

"Here!" Though he whispered, his voice was excited. He lifted the flap, and crawled inside. "Slade's making this too easy," Robin mumbled. "He must have been in a hurry, or he was just being careless."

They all followed him into the hole. As Robin said, they were in a waterway. "Be careful," Robin warned them. "If you hear the sound of water, then get up onto the sides." They all noticed the usual walkways for workers on the sides.

They walked for a long time. Finally, they reached the hideout, which was very easy to recognize. They came to a door with the Slade's "S" on it. Robin warily reached out to touch it, and it opened immediately. They walked inside. They were stunned by what they saw. Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg were pinned to the wall, their ankles, wrists, and necks held fast by metal clasps.

Robin's face reflected his rage. All three were hanging their heads; they must have been unconscious. Starfire lifted her head at the sound of the door opening. Her eyes widened when she saw Robin, but she didn't say anything. Her eyes spoke for her. They were too terrified to give him away by the sound of her voice. Robin took a step forward. Two steps. He raced over to Starfire and began to pull on the clasps that held her. Beastboy and the others raced forward with him, but they were stopped by bars that sprung from the ground as if they were alive, and trapped them against the exit.

Slade, in his usual manner, appeared from the shadows. Robin didn't notice him, but was focusing all his attention on freeing his beloved Starfire. Slade came so close to the teenager that Robin noticed his presence when he could feel Slade's breath on his neck.

"You'll find that impossible to get off, Robin." His tone was completely calm and without care. "The bars are a mix of iron and titanium, making it impossible to bend. Especially for you Robin." Slade narrowed his one visible eye at the boy. "The only way they can be freed is if I push this button. On the other hand, if I pushed the one next to it, the neck bar will strangle your friends right in front of you."

Robin turned, his rage and determined tone filling the room. "You will let them go, or there won't be anything left of you to lay a finger on them!"

"Now Robin, be reasonable. If I have the power to kill your friends right now, shouldn't I be the one telling you what to do?"

Robin's face stood in it's determined and angered position, but slowly, his fists uncurled, and fell limply to his sides. He hung his head.

"Fine, Slade, you win. What do you want?"

"Robin, I'm not that much of a greedy man. My demands are quite simple really. You give me back my diamond, I give you back your friends. That's fair, isn't it?"

Robin clenched his teeth. "What diamond? I don't have it, you do! You're the one who's been throwing us back and forth between dimensions!"

"Robin, listen to yourself. You're blaming me for something you did. Is that so heroic?

"When I activated the diamond, it accidentally fell into your dimension. It's still there. I thought a smart boy like you would have found such a valuable item. But since you don't have it, your friends will not be returning to you, ever."

Robin clenched his teeth harder, and his fists curled into a ball. Slade was wrong, and he knew it. The diamond was still with Slade. But Slade wasn't about to let Robin win. He had found an excuse to kill his friends, and have his stupid diamond in his control. There were no loopholes this time, no way out.

Though Robin couldn't see it, he could sense Slade's smile under his evil masked face. This made Robin even more furious. He yelled and threw himself at Slade. In midair, he heard the click of the button. His breath escaped from him. What had he done?

He heard the gasps for air from behind him, heard the strangled cries for help. His eyes saw without seeing what his friends were going through. With strength driven by pure love for his dying friends, he somersaulted and began running toward his them.

Their eyes were wide, and their hands tried desperately to get to their necks. It was a horrific sight.

Beastboy was able to escape through the bars that held him and the others back from Robin, Slade, and the other Titans. He bent them in gorilla form, and the others raced through. But they knew all they could do was watch. Robin had returned to fighting Slade after realizing there was nothing he could do for the rest of the Titans, and he finally knocked the controller out of Slade's gloved hand. It flew across the room, landing at Elizabeth's feet. In a flash she pressed the opposite button. The three victims fell unconscious from lack of air and away from their death. Beastboy ran to Raven, picked her up, and carried her out. The girls took Cyborg, and Chris carried Starfire. They took them behind the bars again, and then Beastboy ran to help Robin.

The two joined forces and tried to thrash Slade. But, as usual, he was overwhelmingly hard to defeat. Because Beastboy and Robin were working together, Slade persisted with greater force. He finally threw Beastboy against the wall of the small cave so hard that it shook the place. The other Titans had recovered from their ordeal, and they rushed to help. Chris helped Beastboy over to the side. All five watched the four Titans.

Beastboy soon rejoined. The battle was long and bloody, but it was a battle won by the time it was over. Everyone stood, watching to see if Slade would get up and fight. He did not. Starfire flew into the air, shouting that they were victorious. Everyone was cheering. Robin walked slowly over to the side and flopped down against the wall tiredly. It was especially hard for him, even with all his nifty gadgets.

Raven sat beside him. "You all right?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Yeah, just a little tired. That was a long fight." He stood. "We better get the diamond from him and get back to our dimension."

Robin searched Slade, and finally found the diamond in one of Slade's many pockets of his utility belt. He picked it up. He held it up, watching it glint in the light that came from the hole in the ceiling. He was about to say something then stopped. He turned. A horrific rushing sound came from down the tunnel. It was getting closer.

"Everybody get onto the sides!" Robin screamed. He ran toward the wall, helping the girls and Chris scramble up onto the concrete. The water came. It swept Robin off his feet, carrying him down the tunnel. He grabbed onto the railing on the side desperately. The team ran along the walkway, running toward him. But Robin's grip weakened, and he finally was ripped loose. He was swept screaming down the tunnel.

The water was filling the tunnel now. It was filling it to the top. "We have to get out, otherwise…" Cyborg never finished his sentence. They all made it to the hole and out onto the street. They listened, waiting for the water to die down. They needed to go back, they needed to find Robin. But everyone's hearts were weighted down with what they knew was the truth.

Everyone searched. They searched all the tunnels, and found nothing. They tiredly retreated to the surface once more. They walked along the sidewalk, not caring how much people stared at them.

Kim suggested that they go to where all the pipes met. All the water was dumped there, and if Robin had been carried down the pipe, he might be there. They hurried. This was their last hope.

Kim had been right. They walked into the small, underground intersection, and right in the middle lay Robin. One glove and his mask were gone, nowhere in sight. His eyes were slightly open, and so was his mouth.

Beastboy turned away as the reality hit him. A small, cold hand rested on his shoulder. He turned to look into Raven's sorrowful indigo eyes. She bit her lip and looked at the ground. Starfire said not a word as she cradled Robin's body in her arms. She kissed the cold cheek in a silent goodbye. She had never seen such brown eyes before. Now they were cold looking. Nobody said a word.

They stayed for a long time. Nobody moved, nobody did anything. They just sat. Raven finally broke out.

"I can't stand this anymore," she said in a voice that shook. "We have to do something. We have to do something!"

Cyborg looked at her. "There's nothing we can do."

"Maybe not for you. I think I could help." She looked into Robin's once warm, brown eyes. "I can help." She lifted her hands, and chanted the ancient chant from her heritage. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" Her spirit appeared as a raven coming forth from her body, and it flew straight into Robin's dead and unmasked eyes.

"Raven!" Beastboy jumped up. Her body remained in its original position, with her head and hands up, but she didn't move. He cautiously reached out a hand, touching her cheek. He gasped and yanked his hand back. Her cheek was ice cold. Where was Raven?

Raven fell and hit something hard. A floor, or ground. She stood. It was awfully dark and deathly quiet. Already she doubted whether she could help her friend.

She walked for a ways, not knowing where she was going, or supposed to go to. She had been inside Robin's mind once before, but it had been filled with memories, haunting memories. Memories almost as bad as hers. But now, there was simply nothing. Surely he still existed in his mind. Where was he? She walked on. Finally, she spotted something.

A boy. There was a boy. He was curled up, hugging his knees to his chest. He rocked back and forth. Raven was confused. She kept going toward him though. Maybe he could tell her where she was.

She came to stand in front of the boy. He had big, scared eyes. He looked up when he saw her. He jumped. He had a striking resemblance to Robin. Was he? He didn't seem to know her. He seemed smaller, more scared, more vulnerable. This was definitely not the Robin she knew. She took a step toward him.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me where Robin is?" She tried to sound nice, which was not exactly easy for her. The boy looked at her, then his face lit up.

"Raven?" His voice sounded so deep. It couldn't be Robin! He didn't look… right. He didn't look like he usually did. Something was wrong.

"Raven, is that you?" His voice shook. "How'd you get in here?"

"Robin, I'm here to help." Raven looked at him. "Do you remember me Robin?"

"Yes. You are my friend, from the Titans." He sat back down in the middle of the path. "I hate it in here. I've always hated it in here. It's filled with things that I don't want to remember."

"Then why don't you come out? We're all waiting."

"I can't Raven! I've already tried. There's no way out." He sighed. "I guess this is what happens to people when they die. They get trapped in their own minds."

"You can come with me. Out."

"I can't come out of my own mind. I'm stuck here. I-" He looked up. "What's that?" Raven followed his gaze. There was a light, off in the distance.

It was the diamond! The diamond that Slade had had, the diamond that Robin had gotten away from Slade. What was it doing in here? It was glowing, spinning.

"Is that the diamond?" Robin began walking toward it. Raven followed. It wasn't a long walk. They got there within minutes. Robin reached up to touch the jewel, but it sucked him into itself. Raven frantically reached to pull him out, but it was no good. It was too fast.

"Robin?" she whispered. "Robin?" She anxiously looked around. Where was he? He couldn't have just disappeared!

She ran along the path, looking for him. She ran for hours to nowhere. There was nothing in here. No memories, no nothing. Why would Robin hate it in here if there were no memories left to remember? She finally rested. She glanced off into the blackness. She saw something. Confused, she got up and began walking in its direction.

It was a memory. She remembered what Robin's memories looked like. This particular one was of his parents falling from a circus' top platform. She turned away. She already knew how it ended.

She walked away from it, as more memories began to appear. One by one they did. Suddenly, she realized what was happening. She watched. All the memories appeared again. The darkness was swallowed by all of them, there were so many. It was time for her to leave.

Everyone was anxiously watching Robin, wondering when Raven would return. Beastboy was nervously chewing his fingernails, waiting. Raven's black raven came out of Robin and flew back into hers. She moved, then walked over to them. The all stared at her. She smiled a little, and then looked at Robin expectantly.

To their surprise, Robin began to stir. He started to cough violently, and sat up. He coughed up all the water he had inhaled, and then panted. He got on his knees and shakily stood. The others helped him stand.

The first thing he did was look at Raven. She looked at him. He shook his head. "Were you really in my head?" His now visible brown eyes looked at her incredulously.

"Yes."

"How did the diamond get in there?"

"I don't know. But it's out now." She opened her hand to reveal the small clear jewel. She smiled. "I grabbed it on my way out."

He smiled. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet, Dick."

The color drained from Robin's face. "What did you say?"

She grinned. "You might want to find your mask and other glove before we go home and before anyone else sees you."

"Oh. Um…" They all laughed as Robin hurried down the water tunnel, looking for his mask. But they followed him and helped him search anyway.

Once Robin's mask was found, they took the diamond back to Kim's house. Everyone said their goodbyes. Robin thanked everyone for helping him, and did some last minute reading in Kim's Bible. She gave it back when he handed it to her.

"Keep it. I can always get another one." She smiled.

"Well, okay, if you're sure. Thank you." He smiled back and walked over to join his team. Kim held it in front of the T.V., and it glowed. The portal began to suck them in.

The Titans looked at their new friends, knowing they would never see them again. They all agreed that the diamond should be destroyed, so that something like this would never happen again. Kim and her friends smiled back. They all waved. The team was gone in a moment. The diamond stopped glowing.

Stephanie yawned. "Well, that went well."

Elizabeth looked at them all. "Well, that was…fun, but I really want to go home now. I've had enough for one day. All this stuff is going to be in my head for a long, long time."

Chris agreed. Elizabeth's mom came to pick her up, and Chris went upstairs to take a short nap. Kim and Stephanie waited for Stephanie's mother.

"Can you keep a secret?" Kim whispered. She took out the diamond that she was supposed to destroy. "I'm keeping it."

Stephanie smiled. "No problem. I wanted to do the same thing."

"But you know, when they see us again, they'll be really mad."

"So?"

Kim shook her head. "I think we can convince them. I agree with you. Who cares what they say? We'll be careful!"

Stephanie laughed. "Yeah! What's the worse that can happen?"

Kim thought. "There is one thing…we all completely forgot about Slade in the pipe."

They looked at each other. "Uh-oh." They quickly activated the portal again and jumped into Titans tower.

"Guys? Guys!" Kim called out. The tower seemed empty. "Hmm, they must have gone out to fight crime."

"So? We can just wait till they get back! It can't be that long."

FOUR HOURS LATER…

"Is that them?"

"Maybe." Kim got up. She rounded the corner and completely ran into Robin. "Hey Robin. Long time no see."

"What? I thought you had destroyed the diamond!" His face was red with rage.

"We were, but then we thought-"

"What about Slade?" Stephanie interrupted her. "We completely forgot about him."

"I'm not going back in that tunnel," Robin declared. He planted himself on the couch. "I'm not going to relive that whole thing."

Raven let out an over-exaggerated sigh. "Here we go again."

SEVEN HOURS LATER…

"Okay, so we found Slade. You guys can go back now." Cyborg had taken the villain to jail, though he knew they'd probably have to get up again in 48 hours and go find him again.

"Yeah, so you can actually destroy the diamond. Okay?" Robin asked the girls. They both nodded. "Okay." Robin sounded relieved. He looked at their gloomy faces. "It's not that we don't like you two, but we can't have this ever happen again."

"Yeah, we know. We'll go now." They slowly activated the portal and started to walk through.

"Bye!" Robin called after them. They waved, then were back in their own living room.

Stephanie sighed. "This sucks."
Kim agreed. "I'm still not destroying the diamond though." She smiled. "We might be lonely!" She giggled to herself.

Every time after that when they all watched their favorite Teen Titan episode they all remembered what they had done with the team. Sometimes out of the blue one Titan would wave at the screen. That was nice of them. They actually remembered that they had friends watching them beat the bad guys on the T.V.

They also never destroyed the diamond. They kept visiting their alternate dimension friends. The girls would often go and hang out with Starfire and Raven, or talk with Robin about different problems that needed solving. Or they would ask Cyborg about what was wrong with their cars, when they finally turned sixteen and got a car. And Chris would go over almost every day to whoop Beastboy's butt at all his video games. It became a regular routine. But they never told anyone. Not even friends at school or parents at home. Furthermore, they all convinced Robin that it was okay that they didn't destroy the diamond. After all, they told him, if it weren't for the diamond, he would indeed be dead as a doornail.

So everything turned out okay. It all ended well. They were all glad that they were finally friends with people that they thought never existed, that they would never meet. They were happy that they had.