Aha! Chapter 3...dum diddly doo...er um yeah well you guys didn't come here to listen to my singing, so I'll torture you no further. Uh, apparently fanfic was having a brain fart, cuz it didn't display my chapter 2 for a long time, so sorry about that. Just a bit of advice from the ever-knowledgable Dusty...don't drink an energy drink if you have low tolerance for caffiene and you are planning on going to bed anytime soon. LOL good news for you, cuz you get a new chapter, bad news for me cuz my body is sooo tired, but my brain won't let me shut my eyes for more than five seconds. All right, and that was Totally Dusty!

dont need to know: I'm pretty sure he will once again be the leader, and it is definately Rob/Rae.

spooke:)

DITZY: Ok, just sit back and enjoy the show!

RavenHairedInsanity: Um...Probably. She might, she might not. I know...it was just plain evil. Yeah...whether he wants to admit it or not, pride had a big part in his leaving.

SOVEREIGN LORD OF CHAOS: LOL so far, no near death experiences planned for Robin...unless you consider a fever dying...don't want to sound too repetitive you know.

UltimateWeirdo-Gives a new meaning to the expression "bright red"- Thanks so much...I'm really glad I could make a story that you enjoy. I will try not to let my stories go down hill. Thanks so much for reading, you really made my day :)

Shadow Creature (or raeandrob4eva, either way): Yeah you can use it if you want. Fine with me. I'm glad you liked it...I tried to make it one of those "wait a minute...-ponders the meaning of life-" things lol. Lillith? Who who who! Is that the vamp that bit him, maybe? WHY are HER fingers in HIS hair? Er...-cough cough- of course you can use it, I love your story :)

Aeris-Raven: Yes, that is my take on the matter. It's like Lemony Snicket (not that I am in any way comparing myself to him). People know that the books will be unfortunate, but yet they are immensly popular. That in itself shows that happiness is generally not realistic. What life is really about is the trials and hardships we go through and how we cope with them. Er...-cough cough- sorry for that spewing. No I've never heard that song, I love Evanescence tho :) Thanks so much for reading, I'm really glad that you like it so far.

liljimmyurine: Yay, I always wanted to go places :)

Al the Pirate: I read your fic about the song...grr can't remember the name...but yeah the one where Robin and Raven go to the party...of course you know that because you got my review, but uh yeah. It was really good, I loved the way you described the situation, and I liked the idea of Robin with golden brown eyes...intriguing. Glad you like my story :)

liljimmyurine: LOL...yeah, strange how I do that eh? My family thinks I am completely insane...they just don't say it to my face for fear of what I would do in my unstable state of mind. LOL sweet I have my own body guard:)

tinkerbellx2: I get to live? YAY! Lol...not that you could have killed me...I have weapons, lots and lots of weapons...you would find yourself knocked out by my bo-staff before you even contemplated killing me! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! LOL...yeah I know I'm a dork. I'm glad you like it :) ...Hmm...I never really did much with that button...wonder what it does exactly...

Angel Vanilla: But plans change you know...lol thanks for reading :)

Chica De Los Ojos Cafe: Thanks :)

jambey: Yeah it was spazzing. LOL fortunately the tower is still standing. Yeah...I think its cool that she's on the shorter side...I think the girl being taller than the guy is disturbing, personally. One of the reasons why I don't go for Rob/Star. Yeah, it sounds really odd when he tries to say it, and if I was Robin, I would get a bit annoyed with him trying to take over after a while. Yes, exactly!

jambey: I'm not, don't worry. I am working on chapter 4, but it's giving me a bit of difficulty. I know where I want to go, just not how to get there.

Majestical: Thanks, I thought it would fit in with that chapter. Your welcome :) Sorry, I wasn't actually saying that you were male...I am a lady...er well I'm a girl too, but I am constantly reffered to as "dude" or "man" so I guess I am used to it. I appologize, I didn't mean to offend you.

an Angel from Hell: Thanks :)

kiddette: Yayness is right! I missed you...I have to wait that long to find out? But I have no patience! LOL ok then...don't know how long this story will be...

Rinagurl13-Bursts out in hysterical sobs- I HAVE INVOKED THE RATH OF RINAGURL13! Please, I will make it up to you! I promise-Continues to sob-

Furubafun24:) I'm glad you like it! Nah it's ok. I know that life can get pretty darn busy. Glad to see you back tho! Wait no more!

lady briallen: Oh...yeah some people have told me it was a bad idea...hope I'm not screwing up here.

Dark-Magic67: LOL sweet an overdose! Rock on! Er...cough cough. -Bows, thanks for reading :)

Yah It's GodoLento: -gasps in shock, hits the ground twitching- Why...haven't you...mercy?

Strixvaria:) thanks!

The Wings of a Raven: Thanks, I'm really glad you like it :) Cool name by the way, brings a really cool image to mind...dark, tormented sky, black wings outlined against dark purple storm clouds, a dying corn field...Er...-cough cough- thanks for reading :)

Hmmm...so I guess this is it...WARNING! NEW CHARACTER DIRECTLY AHEAD! On With The Story!

-

"Where is he?", grunted the giant of a man, shoving Cyborg aside and stomping into the room.

"Whoa! Who are you talking about?", demanded Cyborg, a little shocked and a lot frustrated.

"Andrew Boris. Enough games, I know you've got him!"

"Boris? Wait just a sec, aren't you...weren't you with that guy, Mathews or whatever? What are you doin' here?" Cyborg had a good idea of what this guy was after, but he might as well hear it from his own mouth.

"Drop the act! We have a search warrant. Either you hand him over quietly or we come in there and take him by force." He cracked his massive knuckles threateningly.

Cyborg yawned, clearly unimpressed. "A search warrant? Who are you talking about?"

Boris growled in impatience, snapping his fingers. His right-hand man hopped to, producing an official-looking folder. Boris flipped it open, holding it up to display a form filled out in tall, spiky letters. Pinned to the top with a paper clip was a photo of Robin, without his mask. "Funny that you wouldn't remember, seein' as how you turned him over to us in the first place."

Cyborg stared at the form, seeing everything from blood type to eye color, not to mention several paragraphs filled with words like aggressive, unstable, and self-destructive. Cyborg honestly didn't know what he would have done if Robin had been there, but he didn't have to worry about that now. "You can search all you want, but he's not here. He left a couple nights ago."

Boris glared at the half-robot with distrust, then snapped his fingers again, signaling his men to split up and search the tower, leaving one to guard the door. "One false move...", he grunted, jabbing a sausage-like finger into Cyborg's metal chest, before moving off in the direction of the basement.

-

Boris's men searched the tower from roof to basement, snapping at Starfire and intimidating Beast Boy. Only one room was left to search.

"You are not coming in my room. He's not in here." Raven glared coldly at the brainless muscle before her. Though she refused to show it, a cold fear was running up and down her spine. She had fooled herself into thinking that this mess was behind them, that she had erased it all by getting him out of there, that they would just forget about him. She cringed at the thought of what would happen if they caught him. Just two days ago, Robin had slipped away into the night without so much as a goodbye. At the time, she couldn't think of how the situation could possibly be worse, but now she saw that it was a blessing in disguise. If he had stayed, they would have caught him. Period. True, she would have defended him with her life, but she was not invincible, especially if her friends were against her, which she was sure that would have been. He was safe...for the moment.

"Boss's orders. Gotta search every room", grunted the thug, using as little words as possible to convey his meaning.

Raven's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and anxiety. "Fine", she said through clenched teeth, stepping aside to allow the moron to shuffle into her haven. She clenched her fists, chanting silently to keep from exploding at him as she felt his taint slink over the only place she called her own. No one should ever go in her room!

After poking his filthy nose into her closet, bathroom, etc., he gave a grunt of approval, and slouched out of the room, calling loudly, "All clear, Boss! He ain't up here!"

Raven cringed at the growly blast of noise and bad grammar, then retreated into her room. She couldn't help imagining Robin, sick and weak, cornered in some dark alley by Boris's thugs. She had to warn him, but how? Her powers only worked if the person was close enough for her to sense. Robin wasn't.

"So I'll find him. He can't have gotten far, not with his leg. There's only...millions of places to hide in this city, so all I have to do is search all of them, and, if he stays in one place, I will eventually find him...hopefully before Boris does." The sheer odds of locating one person in this huge city were starting to get to her.

"Well, Raven, it's almost noon. Better get started."

-

Robin glanced in the shop window as he limped by. "Whoa...", he muttered, taking a good look at his wrinkled and muddy clothes, dirt-streaked face, and matted hair. He was the picture of a juvenile delinquent, out looking for trouble. No wonder he had been attracting so much negative attention from passers-by. Unfortunately, it couldn't be helped, so he'd just have to keep his head down and find somewhere to hide for the day.

A day ago Robin had used some of the money he had brought with him to buy a loaf of bread and some cheese, but there wasn't much left, and he didn't think he would be welcomed in a grocery store looking like something the cat dragged in. He shivered as the icy wind blasted through his thin shirt, but far from being cold, he was burning up. Why hadn't he thought to bring a coat? A blanket? Something? Sleeping on the streets in January wasn't the best idea.

He jumped as an angry shopkeeper rapped on the glass, shouting and gesticulating furiously. Robin stared at the ground, stumbling away from the window, his face red with shame. Everywhere he went, he was treated like a diseased dog, a filthy animal, a freak. "Wow, you lasted a long time! Not even three days and you want to go back! But whatelsewould you expect from a weakling like you?"

He stopped walking as his head spun, a ringing noise filling his brain and making thought nearly impossible. He was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe, heat rushing to his head as he tottered, trying to find something to hold onto. The fever was finally getting to him. He should have swallowed his pride and gone to Wayne, gone back to the tower, gone anywhere to avoid sleeping in alleys three nights in a row. That was just plain stupidity. "I...I should've...Why didn't I...?"

All thought ceased. He was vaguely aware of hitting the ground, but then everything went black.

-

She looked up, jerked out of her thoughts by a shout, then several voices talking all at once, excitement evident in every syllable. Her eyes fell on a cluster of people barely five feet away from her, pushing and shoving at each other, like vultures on a carcus. Not seeing any way through their shoulder-to-shoulder formation, she crouched down on the wet pavement to peek through their legs.

She cringed visibly. "He's been through the mill", she thought, eyes fixed on the boy's face. Oddly enough, he was wearing a mask, the kind you might find in a costume store. "Strange...", she murmured, frozen as she tried to see past it...She had a feeling there was something there, something important...

The spell was broken as someone's boot came crunching down on her hand. She bit her lip, pulling her fingers out from under the foot and waving them in the air, as though hoping that would ease the pain. Pain...he wouldn't last long with them all clustered around him...he could end up trampled if a riot started. Thinking fast, she shouted, "Thief! Get him, he stole my purse!"

The whole lot of them jerked to attention, rushing off in the direction she had indicated. These were the kind of people who stopped to stare at a car wreck, hoping to see some blood. They took great pleasure in the pain of others. This boy was now old news, fortunately for him.

She knelt down beside the strange boy, gently touching his forehead. "Fever", she muttered. She held her hand a few inches from his mouth and nose, feeling a slight rush of air flow past her fingers. She smiled a little, feeling a strange sense of relief. She shook her head, as though to dislodge a disturbing thought. What was he to her? She had never seen him before in her life, and yet...

"No offense, but you look kinda heavy. Don't think you could just wake up and save me the stress?", she asked, sighing. "Guess not. Ok then, we'll do this the hard way."

After a moment of uncertainty, she got a hold on his upper arms and half-lifted, half-dragged him towards a nearby alleyway. As "near" as it was, it took her quite a while to pull him into its shadowy security. When they were a few feet inside it and well hidden, she collapsed, breathing heavily. "Just goes to show you, muscle is way heavier than fat", she thought, instantly blushing as she realized she had been subconsciously checking him out. What had gotten in to her? Some boy turns up and all the sudden she was acting crazy! What was it about him?

She jumped nervously as he groaned, shifting slightly, his limp hand twitching. Remembering his fever, she reached into her backpack, dug for a moment, and produced a small waterbottle. She poured a little into her cupped palm, then rubbed it on his burning forehead and cheeks. It wasn't as cold as she would have liked, but it was better than nothing. She brought the bottle to his perfectly-shaped lips, pouring a little into his, no doubt, parched mouth. He coughed a little as the liquid trickled down his throat, but he remained unconscious.

The boy's clothes were damp, a fact that probably wasn't improving his condition. She silently wondered if he had been out in that impressive thunderstorm of a few nights ago. Where had he come from? Where was he going? Did he have a family? Why was he wearing that mask? He was a mystery, one giant jigsaw puzzle that she was eager to solve.

An icy wind kicked up, bringing with it light, downy flakes of snow: beautiful when observed through the window of a room with a crackling fire, downright dangerous when you were on the other side of that window.

He couldn't stay here. Illnesses like this could turn deadly if they weren't treated; she had seen it many times. She didn't have any medicine (it was ludicrously expensive these days), but she could at least get him out of the weather. She frowned, thinking hard. There was an old abandoned storehouse not too far from here. No one ever took shelter there, because of some stupid rumors about ghosts and murderers. They would have the place to themselves...if she could just get him there.

"Ok, time to go tough guy", she grunted, grabbing him around the chest. Her arms wouldn't go all the way around, which made it difficult to get a good enough hold on him. She managed to stumbled to a semi-standing position, bent over and shuffling backwards. At this rate, they should get there in, oh say...an hour. That didn't work for her.

Gritting her teeth, sweat beading on her brow despite the cold, she lifted him a bit farther off the ground and hobbled as fast as she could until she had to either rest or die. This pattern continued all the way to the storehouse, and she found herself shoving the door open, dragging him through it with her last bit of energy, shutting the door, and falling against it, gasping for breath. "Well, that was...quite a...workout", she breathed, chest heaving.

After her heartrate had slowed somewhat, the girl reached into her backpack and pulled out a dark blue blanket, adorned with two or three holes, then spread it over his shaking body. She placed her hand lightly on his forehead, with the excuse of checking his body temperature. If anything, the fever had gotten worse.

She jumped backwards as he started thrashing, arms flailing pointlessly, the blanket soon becoming entangled in his legs. He was mumbling something, but all she could make out was the word "raven".

"Probably just delirious from the fever", she whispered, speaking aloud to comfort herself. She felt a twinge of sympathy at the pained expression on his masked face, andfound herself wondering even more forcefully who this guy was. He couldn't just be a normal teenager, not with that mask on his face; where had he come from? Where was he going? Who was he?

She let out a gasp of surprise as he sat straight up, sending a cloud of dust into flight at his sudden movement. For a moment she thought she could hear his heart thumping wildly in his chest. He groaned, clutching his head, breath coming in short, irregular bursts. "Where...where am I?"

All she could do was stare, entranced. His voice was deep, with a slight roughness to it. At the same time, it was strangely soothing...

The boy lowered his hands, masked eyes resting on her intensely, as though trying to bring her into focus. She froze under that gaze, an odd twisting sensation in her stomach. He tensed, ragged breathing halting suddenly. "Who...who are you?", he stuttered, pushing himself away from her. He glanced around the dark storehouse, then attempted to bolt to his feet. With a gasp of pain, he fell back to Earth, once again raising a cloud of dust. "Why...Why am I here? Who are you? Are...are you working for Slade?"

Her eyes widened in shock. His voice, even in his weak state, boomed through the empty space, intimidating and frightening. She struggled to regain her composure, if she ever had any. "Whoa there, tiger", she smirked, her voice much calmer than her stomach. "I don't know anything about that Slade guy, so you can relax. You're here because it's a little cold outside, so I thought you might want a place to stay for the night. A little gratitude would be nice. You're heavier than you look."

He continued to stare at her, but he relaxed ever so slightly. "Fine, but who are you?", he demanded, his voice reflecting nothing of his currently poor condition.

"Well, since you asked so nicely..." Seeing his clenched fists and the pulsing vein in his temple, she decided to cut to the chase. "I'm Mina", she announced, smiling and extending her hand.

-

Hmmm...well now you know Mina...and just so you know, THIS STORY IS STRICTLY RAE/ROB! That doesn't mean that certain females aren't entitled to their...crushes. Hope you liked it...and yeah, I changed my name (if it shows up). Just wanted to try out something different...so if you see Insanity for Dummies, think... -Dusty