For all who enjoyed Robin's little freak-out in Arkham Asylum… this is for you. It's a bit nutty, but not like a Butter Finger or a Reese's Cup…

It's nutty in a nasty way…

Dreams in Darkness

"Kill them…"

The command echoed through his mind as he walked down corridor after dark corridor, his movement effortlessly silent and shadow-like, his eyes somehow so accustomed to the blackness that he seemed to know where he was going. Adrenaline coursed through his body thicker than blood and the thud of his own heart was audible, rhythmic. He could feel a prickling at the back of his neck, perhaps spawning from the sense of excitement and anticipation he felt. But despite this excitement, he remained calm and silent as he had been trained. He knew better than to give himself away.

There they were, all four of them standing around in a loose circle discussing something. A familiar sight. But that was all they did; talk. He had no doubt that they were looking for him. Fine, but they wouldn't expect what they would find.

He shifted a little in the shadows, causing his cape to rustle. The shape-shifter caught the noise and turned in the direction it had come from.

"Hear something, B.B?" The half-robot, half-teen asked his friend. Beast Boy nodded his green head slightly. Cyborg looked grim.

"Get ready, Titans," he ordered the three others with him. "It could be more of those robot commandos."

The alien girl nodded and her eyes and hands glowed green, but the pale girl pulled down her purple hood and shot her team-mates a very sceptical look.

"It's him," she said softly. "I can sense him…"

"Then why does he not come out?" Starfire inquired, her voice shaking slightly. "We are worried about him. Why is he hiding from us?"

"I don't know…" Raven pulled her hood up again, casting shadow over her face. "Robin, we know you're there. Come into the light."

"Robin, you must come out!" Starfire cried. "If you are truly there, come here. We are worried about you!"

Hidden in the shadows he failed to answer them, but couldn't stop himself from smirking at their worried tones.

"I don't think it's him, Raven," Cyborg said carefully. "This isn't like him. If he's not answering it means he's not there. It was probably just a rat B.B heard. C'mon, let's go look in the next wing…"

Cyborg turned to leave, followed closely by Beast Boy. Starfire and Raven both hesitated, then went after the boys.

That's when he made his move.

"Look, we'll find him, I prom-" Cyborg was cut off by a shrill scream from Starfire, who was at the back. He, Beast Boy and Raven turned sharply just in time to see the brightly-clothed form of Robin finish tying the Tamaranean girl up and kick her to one side.

"Robin, what are you-" Raven didn't get to finish as Robin whipped around and came at her. He threw his entire weight into her, bringing them both crashing to the ground. She struggled beneath him, trying to toss him off her, but he suddenly seemed much stronger than usual and he soon had her completely pinned to the floor, unable to move. Her eyes glowed as she summoned her powers, but before she could finish her spell he had ripped something from the back of his belt and slapped it over her mouth, silencing her. Whatever it was, it was incredibly sticky and she couldn't wrench it off as he released her. He very calmly stood up and stepped away from her, admiring his handiwork, but was suddenly slammed to one side by something heavy and made of metal. He crunched against the wall and felt searing pain shooting through his ribs, but at the same time it was distant, as though not real. Something was definitely broken though, and he struggled to his feet clutching at his left side.

"What's wrong with you, man?" Cyborg asked tantalisingly, his huge metal body tense and ready to defend. At his side a green tiger was crouched, growling savagely.

Robin smiled.

"Nothing's wrong," he said softly. "In fact, I feel better than I ever have before…"

Ignoring his broken ribs he suddenly darted forward, launched himself into a handspring and delivered a cracking blow to Cyborg's metal chest with his feet, sending the vast half-robot staggering backwards. He heard a roar from behind him as Beast Boy lunged; he quickly rolled to one side and felt a tugging on his cape as the tiger's claws ripped the black and yellow material into four ragged strips. He turned, but not quickly enough; he felt a dull spasm of pain shuddering through him as Beast Boy's claws plunged into his abdomen. He made a sound halfway between a groan and a gasp and staggered against the wall behind him, sliding down into a slumped sitting position as Beast Boy pulled his claws back out of his stomach. Within seconds the shape-shifter was back in human form, taking the Boy Wonder gently by the shoulders.

"Oh, Robin, I'm sorry," Beast Boy said, his voice shaking with fright and horror. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… I didn't realise you were so close… oh, man, I've really hurt you…"

Robin opened his eyes and grinned weakly.

"S'okay," he muttered. Beast Boy shook his green head.

"No, it's not," he said distractedly. "Let me just see how deep it is…" He started to lift up Robin's blood-soaked red shirt, but Robin put his hand under Beast Boy's chin and looked him right in his emerald eyes.

"I said it was ok," he repeated savagely. He smiled horribly and gave a sudden jerk of his hand, snapping Beast Boy's head back with a sickening crack. Across the corridor Starfire screamed and Raven squealed, still gagged, as Beast Boy's lifeless form tumbled to the ground and lay face down, completely still.

"You killed him…"

Robin looked up to see a livid Cyborg towering over him and shrugged.

"Yeah, well…" He struggled to his feet, aware that Cyborg was watching his every move.

"Robbie, what's the matter with you?" Cyborg asked desperately. "Look, I don't wanna fight you, man. I wanna help you. You… you didn't mean to kill Beast Boy-"

Robin snorted with laughter.

"Don't kid yourself, Cy," he said mockingly. "You know perfectly well I killed him on purpose, and I'm going to kill you too."

Cyborg had barely opened his mouth to answer when Robin threw an uppercut at his metal jaw. It didn't take him long to recover, but by the time he had, Robin was behind him ripping open his circuit box.

"Robin! Robin, don't do this, please don't-" Cyborg interrupted himself with a yell as Robin reached inside him and pulled out a handful of sparking wires and chips. Cyborg's brain/movement connection was annihilated and he crashed onto his back, completely immobile. Robin straddled him and sat on his chest, looking down at the half-robot extremely smugly.

"Robin, please don't do this," Cyborg pleaded. "We're your friends…"

"Correction," Robin replied airily. "You were never my friends. You just held me back from being what I truly am. I should have seen it then, but I didn't. I was too blind and stupid, but I'm not anymore. I've been lifted up with new wings."

"And who gave you those damn wings!" Cyborg spat. "Slade!"

Robin smiled.

"He's done more for me than you ever have," he said.

"He's turned you into a monster," Cyborg argued. "Can't you see what he's done to you, Robin! He's poisoned you, made you into something you're not. He's made you into himself…"

"No more talking now, Cy," Robin said, his voice almost gentle as he reached to the back of his belt and took out his staff. He ran his other gloved hand over the glass dome protecting the circuits connected to Cyborg's brain, searching for a weak spot.

"Robin, don't," Cyborg begged. "Please don't. We'll help you get back to normal, we know this isn't your fault…"

"I don't want to go back to normal," Robin sighed. "I like being a psycho." His fingers settled on a place near the top of the dome.

"I hope you get electrocuted," Cyborg breathed savagely. Robin shrugged.

"It'll be a laugh, I guess," he said flippantly. "Nighty night, Cy…"

He brought the retracted staff down like a stake, shattering the glass dome. Cyborg screamed as his former friend tore out these circuits too, terminating his system completely, killing him. Then his scream died as he did, all the light going out of his electronic system and then he lay as still and dead as the murdered Beast Boy.

Robin didn't get time to celebrate though, as a shower of green energy exploded at his feet, forcing him to leap backwards off Cyborg. He looked up and saw Raven and Starfire standing next to each other; Raven was still gagged but he realised it had been a mistake to leave her able to move, as she had obviously untied Starfire. Still, two down…

He allowed his staff to shoot out to full extent and leapt into the shadows. The dark offered him a sense of invisibility, as Batman had taught him to be very good in the dark, stealthy and silent.

"Where did he go!" Starfire cried, turning in a full frantic circle. Her hands were glowing with orbs of green energy, ready to pump him full of high-powered starbolts. Raven too was ready, but she was useless without the use of vocality; her telekinetic abilities relied on her spell. He knew he could pick them both off at his leisure, as he had exploited both their weaknesses.

Raven's was her inability to use her powers.

Starfire's was him.

The alien girl was unwittingly coming closer and closer to him, not realising the danger she was in. He waited until she had turned her back on him, then stepped into the light and cracked her across the back of the head with his staff, sending her sprawling face-first to the floor. She didn't get up but Robin knew she was just senseless, not dead. It took more than that to kill Starfire.

He heard the swishing of Raven's cape behind him and turned, catching her fist centimetres from his face. He twisted her wrist and heard her cry in pain, then kicked her backwards against the opposite wall. She pushed away from it but suddenly he was in front of her, extremely close to her. He reached up, took hold of the tape he had stuck over her mouth and sharply ripped it off. She opened her mouth to unleash her powers on him but her spell died on her tongue as he closed in on her, pulled down her hood and kissed her hard, pushing her against the wall. As he had hoped she fell into it, closing her eyes and thrusting her tongue into his, her hands caressing his back and neck and shoulders and hair. She didn't notice him take his hands from her waist and instead go to his belt, nor did she notice him taking his grappling hook from it. And just as she didn't realise that his fiery, passionate kiss was a mere distraction, she didn't realise that he was slipping the strong cord around her throat even as he so lovingly kissed her. She may have known that he was going to kill her, but she didn't know how close he was to doing it.

He pulled back from her, a nasty little smirk playing on his lips. Raven glared at him, her amethyst eyes sparkling with an enraged flame.

"You arrogant b-"

She didn't get to finish as he suddenly jerked the cord as hard as he could, strangling her. Her scream came out choked and black sparks exploded from her body, some of them shooting through him painfully. But he knew he couldn't let go of the cord until she was dead. It took a surprisingly long time for her to die, and when she finally slumped lifelessly in his arms the cord was still around her neck, bloody and slicing deep into her pale flesh.

"Poor Raven…" He could see himself reflected in the tiny jewel on her ashma chakra. Despite being kicked around a bit his hair was still immaculate. Shame he couldn't say the same for his punctured abdomen or broken ribs. Stupid Cyborg… Stupid Beast Boy…

He heard a moan behind him as Starfire came to her senses; throwing Raven to one side he turned to find the Tamaranean slowly getting to her knees, rubbing the back of her skull. It wouldn't do to be cruel to Starfire as he had been to the others. Starfire was more dangerous when she was frightened or angry, so the best thing to do was lull her into a false sense of security, a step higher than what he had done with Raven. He just had to act… normal, concerned, human. He had to act like the old Robin, not the dark incarnation he had since become.

"Star, you ok?" He sauntered over to her, trying to force himself to sound worried; it was difficult now that he no longer gave a toss about her. He knelt down beside her and put his hand on her shoulders. She flinched and shied away from him, uttering something in shrill Tamaranean.

"Hmm?" He was almost amused by her. Even now she made him laugh by just being Starfire.

"Stay away from me," Starfire said, her voice shaky but her tone firm. "You are not Robin. Robin would never hurt his friends."

Ah, Starfire. So naïve and so gullible. She truly believed that he wasn't the real thing, couldn't and wouldn't believe that the real Robin would be capable of being so evil and malicious.

"Of course I'm Robin, Star," he said chirpily. He reached out for her again and she shot a starbolt at him, making him sharply withdraw his hand. He frowned; this was going to be more difficult than he had first thought. He straightened up again and retreated back a few steps.

"Look, I'll go back here if it makes you feel safer," he tried again. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I would never hurt you, Starfire."

"But… but you hurt our friends," Starfire said softly. "You killed them. You cannot be Robin…" She started to cry, tears pouring down her cheeks and off her chin.

Paydirt…

He came onto his knees again beside her and took her into his arms, letting her cry into his shoulder. She clung to him as though she would never let him go and he knew he had her.

"It's ok, Star," he soothed. "It'll be alright, I promise. I'm not going to hurt you…"

Sucker…

"Why did you do this?" Starfire sobbed. "Why did you kill them?"

Robin shrugged.

"Felt like it," he said flippantly. He felt Starfire try to pull away from him at this but he held her tight to his chest, refusing to let her go. She whimpered a little in fright and he smoothed her hair reassuringly.

"It's different with you," he went on, the lie coming so easily to his tongue. "I wouldn't hurt you, Star, you know I wouldn't."

"Let me go," Starfire pleaded, starting to cry again. "Please, Robin, you are frightening me…"

He released her and got to his feet, taking her hands and pulling her with him.

"I can't believe you just said that," he said, smiling faintly. "When have I ever frightened you?"

He looked into her green eyes, huge with fright and sadness and glittering with tears both fallen and unfallen. He squeezed her hands reassuringly and pulled her right into him.

"I love you," he whispered. He kissed her before she could respond, distracting her as he had done with Raven while he went to his belt for a weapon. The humble birdarang came into his hand and he smirked around the kiss as he felt it's sharp edge. His arm found it's way around her slim waist, feeling the arch of her back beneath his gloved fingers, just as her hands came to his hips and then slid conspicuously onto his rear. He pushed himself harder against her, feeling his bloody midriff sticking to her bare one, ensuring that he had her attention 100 as she ran her hands wildly over his body. Then he gasped a little in pain as she accidentally touched the puncture wounds in his belly; she pulled away from him as she realised what she had done. He smiled sunnily at her, a perfectly normal smile that had once graced his face so often.

"You hurt me," he said, his voice bouncy. Starfire blinked and tried to step back from him, her fear rightfully returning. However, his arm was still around her waist and he pulled her back in right against him. He put his lips to hers again but didn't kiss her, and in the close contact she saw his smile slowly transform into a smirk.

"Guess I should return the favour…" She felt his lips moving against hers as he spoke; he was so close, she could easily blind him with beams from her eyes but she was too terrified of him to even breathe…

She screamed piercingly as he tore the wing of the birdarang across her throat, cutting her cry short; he moved down and slashed her once, twice across her chest, her alien blood spattering on his face and up his arms, her purple crop top torn and bloody. The birdarang found another mark and he cut deep into her thighs, feeling a terrible delight welling up inside him as he killed the Tamaranean. She wasn't screaming as he had severed her wind-pipe, but tears were streaming down her face, splattered with her own blood. And despite everything she was still clinging to him, clutching the front of his red shirt in dying hands. He was hacking into her stomach now, slicing deep gashes into her perfect flat mid-section, one of his hands twisted cruelly in her red hair, now matted with her own blood. How he wished he had an axe to hack her to bits more effectively, though. He paused, studying her; she was still alive, if only barely. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, brought his hand back and plunged the birdarang into her abdomen. She blanched and her green eyes widened, then her hands fell limp and released his shirt and he knew she was dead. He disdainfully dropped her to the floor where she lay a few feet away from Raven, then cast his gaze around, smiling at the devastation he had single-handedly wrought. Cyborg was still sparking slightly but all four of them were undeniably dead.

"That's my boy."

Slade came out of the shadows and placed his hands on his apprentice's shoulders.

"That was excellent," he continued. "Cruel. Heartless. Malicious." He touched Robin's dark hair affectionately. "I'm very proud of you."

Robin smiled.

"Thankyou. I enjoyed it."

"I know you did. They cannot try and save you now."

"I don't need saving."

Slade squeezed his shoulders slightly.

"I know. You're finally where you belong. Not with the Titans. Not with Batman. With me. We're so very much alike, Robin; we're two of a kind…"

Robin jerked awake and sat up, breathless and soaked in cold sweat, his chest heaving. His sheets were clinging to his bare torso and his hair was tousled, evident of severe tossing and turning. He looked wildly around, the dense blackness closing in on him, his head pounding. He put his hands to his forehead, feeling how hot he was, and yet he was shivering. He felt terrible, confused, wanting to lie back and calm down, think through what had happened, sort out his mind, but his brain was in conflict and as much as he wanted to sink back onto the bed, he also couldn't bear the thought of it. He threw off his covers and got out of bed, feeling the cold air hit him; he moved to the doorway, slid back the panel and stepped into the dark hallway beyond. His actions were mindless, as though some unthinking force was driving him as he wandered down the dark corridor. He was like the undead in the way he swung the bathroom door open and turned on the light, didn't care that it blinded him as he crossed to the sink. And as calmly as was possible he bent over it and threw up, the horrible sensation and sour taste like a slap in the face. He straightened up again, his breath coming in ragged gasps, and turned on the cold tap, throwing water onto his face to clean himself up and washing out the sink. Then he reached for the glass beside the toothbrush rack, filled it and washed out his mouth, and with it washing out any traces of the unreal world he had been in mere seconds ago. He replaced the glass and leaned against the mirror above the sink, his eyes closed and his breathing slowly returning to normal. It was a hot night, as was evident by the fact that he was only wearing boxer shorts, but he was shivering as though it was the dead of winter. His eyes opened again behind his mask and he looked at his reflection. Wet, his hair all over the place, but certainly not bloody. He sighed heavily, hanging his head in despair.

Just a dream. Another freaky, twisted, vivid goddamn dream…

Get a grip, Bird-boy…Ok, bad dream, spawned from hallucination earlier. No big deal. Right?...

He wished he could believe what he was telling himself. It made perfect sense. But it still terrified him. It had been so real; he had truly felt that terrible joy when his dream-self had killed the Titans, almost felt the pain of his broken ribs, his wounded stomach. It had been unlike any other dream he had ever had, as though he had entered a parallel universe where things were obscure, yes, but very real indeed. And worst of all seemed to be this repeating belief that he and Slade were two of a kind. But it wasn't true, he could never be so cruel and evil as Slade, as his dream-self had been. And yet, somehow, his mind had conjured up that entire brutal scene all by itself, without any of his input, and made it horribly accurate. That sick tableau was there somewhere, as though waiting to be acted out for real. If he was capable of such horrible things in dreams, why should he not be capable of them in the real world?

He was, he knew. In this normal state of mind he wouldn't, but that didn't change the fact that he could. The dream-Robin had exploited his friend's weaknesses, as he had under his pretence of Red X. He had kissed both Raven and Starfire, as the real Robin had done. Oh, he was capable of it all right. He just wished he could go back to the blissful ignorance of it.

He went back into the hall, flicking off the bathroom light, and wandered back to his room. He couldn't go back to sleep, he knew he wouldn't be able to. What he wanted was a distraction, something to take his mind off the dream until he was no longer too frightened and sickened by it to think it through properly. He hunted around his room for his "R" motif shirt, found it under his desk and pulled it on, leaving the neckline unbuttoned. The heat had returned to his body and he was no longer shivering, and so without further thought he left his room and padded down the hall to the elevator. He put himself down a level and stepped out, heading for the gym. He went in and slid the panels closed behind him, then made straight for the wooden training dummy he usually sparred with. Funny how an oddly-shaped piece of wood could force him into a mindless, aggressive routine of martial arts. He was hitting it harder than usual, and in the absence of his boots and gloves it really hurt, but he didn't care. He wanted it to hurt; he deserved it…

"I didn't know robins were night birds."

His stomach twisted unpleasantly as he heard Raven's voice behind him. Immediately a fleeting image of him strangling her came into his head and his rhythmic hitting pattern faltered, then stopped altogether.

"Go away, Raven," he said between gritted teeth, not turning to face her. He simply couldn't look at her, knowing that if he did he would see her dying.

Raven snorted.

"I shouldn't have said anything," she said icily. "I've been standing watching you for about five minutes and you didn't notice."

"Go away," Robin repeated, this time more firmly. He started up his pattern again, harder still, just to make a point.

She winced as she heard the thuds issuing from the dummy, knowing that he was hurting himself.

"Why are you hitting it so hard?" She inquired, coming closer to him. No answer, but he continued to really whack that dummy.

"You'll hurt yourself," she said coolly, getting irritated at his ignorant manner.

"Good." His tone was dismissive and cold. Raven scowled and pulled down her hood; underneath her long purple cloak she was wearing a silk nightgown of tie-dye pattern sapphire and azure blue. She noticed how scantily clad he was – just that red "R" shirt and boxers – and couldn't help but sneak a look at the latter. They were white, and to her surprise and amusement they had cute little cartoon robins printed all over them. She smirked.

"Nice underwear," she complimented him. He stopped again and threw her a quick but filthy look. She sighed irritably.

"What are you all moody about now, then?" She asked offhandedly.

"Nothing," he answered sharply, snapping a hard kick at the dummy. She heard him murmur "Ouch" under his breath as his foot connected with the wood. She bit her lip as she watched him dismiss the pain and kick the dummy again and again, each time evidently hurting him more and more. She put her hand out towards him.

"Do you want me to-" She started.

"I want you to go away!" Robin interrupted angrily, still refusing to look at her. Raven blinked.

"What's the matter with you!" She snapped. "Why are you being so rude to me?"

"Fine," Robin said icily. "Please go away, Raven."

She simply couldn't understand why he didn't want to be anywhere near her, why he couldn't bear to look at her…

"Why are you down here?" He asked when she didn't move, reverting back to hard slicing across the wood.

"I heard you being sick," Raven answered snippily. "The bathroom is right next to my bedroom and I was meditating. I was worried about you, and then I heard you using the elevator so I followed you down here to see what you were doing."

"Well, now you know what I'm doing," Robin reasoned coldly, "so if you would please leave."

His temper was shooting skyward like a NASA rocket and she seemed to sense it.

"Why don't you come and meditate with me?" She offered. "It's calmed you down before."

"I prefer to work off my anger like this, thanks."

Raven frowned.

"What are you angry about?" She asked incredulously.

"Nothing."

"You must be-"

"I said it was nothing."

She watched him hit the dummy again and her own anger started to mount. She reached out and grabbed hold of his wrist.

"Robin, if you would just-"

"DON'T!" He yelled at her, twisting his wrist and hitting her on her right shoulder, knocking her onto her back. He withdrew his hand and looked at it, as though confused, then looked down at her, utterly shocked and horrified

"Raven, I'm… oh, jeez… Raven…"

She sat up and wrenched her hood back over her face.

"Alright, point taken," she said coldly. "You want me to leave."

"Raven, I…" He trailed off, his voice failing him.

"You don't have to say anything," Raven spat. "I'm going…"

A black vortex appeared on the gym floor beneath her and she sank through and disappeared.

Robin just stood there, his hand still slightly raised.

He had hurt her.

Maybe not badly. He hadn't strangled her, killed her. But he had still hit her, let his temper get the better of him and lashed out at her. It wasn't her fault he had had that dream; it was his.

Was it a dream… or an omen? Was he destined to become his so-called "dream-self"? Was this the beginning of the tainting of his soul by an evil that refused to be repressed any longer? Were he and Slade really… two of a kind?

"Raven… I'm sorry…"

He came onto his knees, holding on to the dummy he had been venting his anger on mere moments before, and leaned against it, his eyes closed and silent tears running down his face.

He didn't want to become Slade, he had been through this before, and had had dreams before that he was destined to follow in Slade's footsteps. But now he felt that maybe…

…Maybe there was nothing left for him to be.

Yes, the boy officially has a screw loose… Or does he?… Is this merely another part of the prophecy, a part with a hidden meaning?… And despite all of Robin's fears and frustrations concerning Slade, is the masked villain really… well, the bad guy after all?…

Let me know what you all think, and next chapter(s) up ASAP!