All right, I'm back from Thanksgiving break with the next chapter. Sorry to keep you waiting.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, or any related material, although the story idea is mine.

Chapter 12

She had stumbled back into the tower without a moment to spare, for the second she had fallen into bed, the door burst open and an angry Cyborg came rushing inside, his sonic cannon at the ready as he scanned the room. In as innocent a voice as she could muster, she asked, "What troubles you, friend? Is there an intruder I should be aware of?"

Her buttery-sweet tone threw him off. How could she not notice the huge gaping hole in the window? What was wrong with her? "I saw the broken window on our way back to the tower and assumed that somebody had tried to get in," he said, his cheeks turning a bit pink upon finding that there was no danger after all. He lowered his sonic cannon with his head held low.

"Oh, do not be troubled. I see the hole quite clearly. I made it," she said, trying to use as gentle a tone as she could so as not to anger the already edgey Titan.

"You did what? Alright, explanation time, missy!" As Cyborg said this, Terra and Beast Boy edged into the room beside him, eager to know what had happened. As they did so, Starfire noticed Beast Boy take Terra's hand and lead her in like a gentleman. It was somewhat amusing, the way those two flirted so openly.

"My apologies for the window, friend, but you see, the door was not opening and I did not wish to destroy it, so I chose to exit through the window instead," she said matter-of-factly, as if there should have been no problems with such actions.

"Wait a minute! You left?" Cyborg's jaw dropped and his eyes flashed in anger.

"Yes, I believe she just said that," said Raven, who had appeared just behind the big man, curious as to what was going on. "Go on, Star, tell us what happened."

Taking a deep breath, she began to relate the tale to her friends. "I had discovered what Raven noticed back in the caves. Robin was there, and then he simply vanished. Since you all were a bit preoccupied with another mission, I took it upon myself to investigate the cave myself, and I found the most interesting thing there." She paused, letting the air become dense with suspense as the Titans waited for her to continue. "After being attacked by bats, at least I believe that is what they are called, I tripped over a large stone and thus stumbled upon the trigger to opening a secret door to Slade's lair."

"I told you he was somewhere in that cave," Raven said triumphantly to Cyborg, who glared back at her. "Anyway, continue," Raven added before Cyborg had the chance to retort.

"What I found there was most startling and eye-opening, for I found Robin, tattered and bruised after an encounter with a certain member of the team, and I am sure after Slade had his way with our friend..."

"Our friend?" Cyborg interrupted suddenly. "Not former friend? You mean he really is on our side? You know for sure?"

"Friend, please do not interrupt me. But if you must know, yes, he is loyal to us. He insisted on my leaving to keep Slade from discovering me. When I found him, he was in no condition to fight back anyway..." her voice trailed off. It was such a painful memory, to see his battered figure after a year of pain and lost hopes only to have them crushed by the fact that he was unable to assist her.

"What happened? Is he okay? Did I hurt him to badly?" Raven suddenly perked up, obviously sorry that she had lost control and curious as to how badly her anger had effected him.

"Oh, do not worry, friend, he was conscious...after a while at least...but do not trouble yourself about it! The point is, friends, that we now know where he is and we will be able to save him now! He is hurt badly currently and it will be too much to ask him to assist us now, but perhaps if we wait, find out a way to eject these probes from our systems, we will have bought him enough time!" Her face lit up, showing to the others how much she cared, how badly she wanted to succeed.

Standing up, Cyborg put his hand out in a gesture of helpfulness. "Even though you broke your promise and still left without my permission, I'd be happy to help you figure out a way to get these blasted contraptions out of our bodies. You've got yourself a partner!"

Smiling, she took his hand, returning his broad grin and shook it, secretly feeling an overwhelming feeling of joy that she feared would overcome her entire body. They were taking the first steps to finally taking action to save him. Soon she would once again hold him in her arms, and this time she would never let him go again!

Because Terra was the only one who did not have the probes within her, she helped Cyborg get all the equipment together and helped Raven into it. Though she was obviously disdainful and did not want to be anywhere near all that stuff that would go into her body, Raven allowed them to suit her up, deciding it was better to get this over with first. Cyborg gave a full commentary while Raven kept her back turned to the screen, not wanting to have anything to do with this other than getting these things out as soon as possible.

"So, what happens if I have to use the bathroom?" she asked nonchalantly, starling everybody present, especially after she laughed and said, "Just kidding."

After at least two hours, she was finally finished, and she gladly shed the annoying suit. Unfortunately, they were all extremely tired from the day's work; two missions and a bunch of research to try to get rid of the probes! So, they agreed to take a breather for the night, but only after she had their word that they would continue first thing in the morning. She was too excited to let this oppurtunity pass. She just couldn't wait!