Chapter Six

Cyborg produced a disk, essentially a writable CD. He went to the computer console and inserted it into the CD drive. He accessed the disk.

"First, what we have is the last visual record of the T-ship." he said.

The Titans watched the video intently. The picture was somewhat distorted in color, but the shapes were unmistakable.

They saw the point of view of the T-ship, with Starfire watching as it departed the hanger. She appeared to be upset. The view changed as the ship rocketed its way from the tower. The vehicle banked to its right to show Titans Tower surrounded by some kind of thick, dark fog. A vortex of a sort seemed to be approaching the tower. Then, a brilliant ball of light appeared from the vortex's center and struck the tower! Electricity enveloped the entire building, causing it to glow blue. Then, it flashed into light and was gone! All that was left was the island itself and the basement of the tower!

The vortex halted in its approach, holding a position a few hundred yards away from the island. The T-ship circled the island for a few minutes, and then hovered over the island. It stayed there for a minute or so before a flash of light enveloped it! Then, the picture went blank.

The Titans glanced at each other in shock. "Well, now we know what happens." Raven said, tersely.

"There's more." Cyborg said, accessing another part of the disc. "This is a recording Robin made." He played it.

Robin's distorted voice came out of the speakers:

"I am making this recording to document what could be my final moments alive. I have just witnessed a powerful and unknown force completely destroy Titans Tower! Sadly, there are no survivors, save one; myself, Robin, leader of the Teen Titans. Obviously, my plan was a failure. If I do survive this event somehow, this tragedy will be on my conscious for the rest of my life. I wonder if Starfire's guardian, what's-his-name, will ever forgive me..."

There was a burst of static, then silence.

"That's all we found." Cyborg said.

The Titans stared in disbelief, especially Robin himself.

"I can't believe this!" he exclaimed, pacing the lounge. "Why would I think of a stupid plan like leaving the Tower in a serious emergency?"

"Yeah, I mean, that's something that I'd probably do!" Beast Boy said.

"Not helping." Raven deadpanned. She stood up and placed a hand on Robin. "Look, we can eventually ask Timothy why he did what he did."

"Who's Timothy?" Cyborg asked.

"The name we decided on for Robin's doppelganger." Starfire said.

"Oh."

Robin clenched and unclenched his fists in anger. He could not believe that he would commit such an act of cowardice as he saw on the recording! "I know myself better than that!" he said, mostly to himself. "I know where I can get real answers from!"

He stormed his way to the sick bay. The other Titans ran after him.

Once their, Robin saw Timothy was asleep again. He grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him violently awake. "Wake up, damn you!" he yelled. "Wake up!"

Tim woke up, still dazed and confused. He was gasping.

"What the hell did you do? Tell me, damn you!"

Raven grabbed him by the arm. "He can't understand you, Robin! As far as he's concerned, we're part of some nightmare!"

"Well, he's damned right I'm part of his nightmare! I'll make his life a living hell!"

Starfire pulled him away. "No more Robin yelling at Robin!" she yelled.

"She's right!" Cyborg told him. "You're letting this get out of hand!"

Robin leaned against a wall, sulking. Beast Boy faced him. "Look, Robin, we still have plenty of time to stop whatever it is that's going to happen..."

"That's not the point!" he snapped back. "Why would I do such a stupid thing! It's not how I am!"

"Maybe you had a reason to leave."

"Like what?"

"Well, like...um...I don't know! I'm not you! He is!" He pointed at Timothy.

"Bullshit!" Robin yelled. "Except for his appearance, he's nothing like me!" He stormed out of the room.

Starfire stared at the door, near tears. "I have never seen him like this!" she said.

"He'll get over it." Cyborg said. "He always does."

Starfire could only hope that her friend was right.

Robin went to his room and sat on his bed, sulking. He never knew he could be so angry with himself, especially his 'future self'!

"This is stupid!" he said to himself. "I have to trust what Raven said! He'll become more aware and be able to answer me!"

He laid down. "What the hell kind of leader am I? I let my anger get out of control in front of my team!" He sighed. "I wonder if Batman ever felt like this."

Then he snickered. "Geez, I better be careful, or I'll end up talking to myself too often."

He laughed again when he realized that the source of his frustration was himself; or rather, what he would be. And it wasn't too far into the future either; it was about 24 hours away. 'What a difference a day makes.' Robin thought.

He got up, and made his way to the lounge.

The other Titans were already there. "How's Tim?" he asked.

"Fine." Raven replied. "It was just a nightmare to him, and like any nightmare, he'll disregard it."

"Good." he said, sighing. "Listen, I'm sorry I snapped back there. It's just..."

"Robin, we understand." Cyborg said. "I'd feel the same way too if I knew my future self would leave while my teammates got destroyed by something."

"Thanks, Cy." he replied tersely. His friend's choice of words was like salt on his mental wound. Cyborg knew that by reading Robin's expression, and felt regret.

"The point is Robin," he said, "This is nothing new to us. You're human like the rest of us." He glanced at Starfire. "Well, most of us, anyway."

He chuckled. "I know. I just have to remind myself of that."

"So," began Beast Boy. "How about a video game to remind you just who the true master is, huh?"

He laughed. "Bring it on!"

While the two boys set up the Gamestation, Cyborg approached Starfire.

"See? What'd I tell you?" he whispered.

"I never doubted it for a second, friend Cyborg!" she replied, making her way to a seat next to Robin.

Raven watched her teammates.

"I'll be with Tim." she said.

"Gotcha." Cyborg replied, not bothering to face her. 'At least things are stable for now.' she thought.

Silently, she went back to sick bay.

Tim was awake when she got there. He turned his bed back and forth, trying to make sense of all he was seeing. "I'm here, my love." she said softly. Tim started at her, as if trying to focus his vision.

Raven undid the restraints with her powers. Tim got up, his legs shaking. Raven helped him. He was panting, as if the effort of standing was too much for him. The mystic considered her next action.

Sighing, she came to a conclusion. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

She enveloped herself and Tim in her energy field, teleporting them to her room. She then set him down on her bed and locked her door.

She turned to face him. He seemed more confused than he did earlier. "Let me help you." she said, walking to him.

She laid on the bed next to him, caressing his face and running her fingers through his hair. She leaned in and kissed him. He simply stared at her now.

'He probably thinks it's a dream.' she thought. 'Well, I'll make this a dream he'll never forget.' She smiled as another thought crossed her mind. 'This will also be a dream come true for me.'

She hoped that the other Titans wouldn't notice their commotion.